sloped down to the cove of the bay, but back of the farmlands lay a
long stretch of forest. The ground was covered with a carpet of wild
flowers and a few late violets.

Once the chums were fairly in the heart of the woods they did not meet
another traveler. They seemed to have the forest to themselves. They
had no thought of danger in the quiet woods, and Madge and Eleanor, who
had been brought up in the country, were careful to watch the paths
they followed.

They had been in the woods for an hour or more when Lillian, who was
stooping over a clump of big, purple violets, thought she heard a
peculiar sound resembling light footsteps, Whether there was a human
being or an animal near them she could not tell. The footsteps would
run rapidly and then stop abruptly.

"Phil," called Lillian, "I thought I heard something. Did you? Listen
once more. There, did you hear that?"

Phil listened. "Not a sound, Airy Fairy Lillian. It must have been
your fancy."

But Lillian was not convinced. Several times she believed she heard
the noise again. However, she did not mention it.

As the girls came out of the woods to a little clearing Phil, who was
in the lead, ran forward. "Madge, Eleanor," she called, "come here,
quick! I am sure this must be a regular, old-time log cabin."

Before them the girls saw an old cabin that looked as though it had