Mollie received a telegram from her mother saying that the twins, Dodo and
Paul, had disappeared. Still later, while everything was at its blackest,
Betty read Allen Washburn's name among the missing. However, everything
cleared up later when the twins, who had been kidnapped, were recovered
and their kidnapper sent to justice. Still later Allen proved that the
report that he had been missing was an error by writing to Betty himself
and in the letter he also spoke of Will Ford and the fact that he was
getting over his wound splendidly. Of course there had been great
rejoicing and the vacation had proved a happy one after all.

And now, at the time of this story, the war was over and the first
regiments of soldiers had arrived from the other side and the girls were
expecting a joyful reunion with the boys at any time.

They had not yet made definite plans for the summer and were just in the
position of waiting for something to happen when something had happened
with a vengeance--but not at all the kind of something which the four
girls had expected.

"I think you are right, my dear," said the man who had saved the lives of
at least two of the girls, rubbing his hands fussily together and peering
out of small, near-sighted eyes, first at the tree and then at the girls.
"It was a close call--a very close call. I declare, it was very nearly the
closest call I ever saw!"

For the first time the girls really looked at him. He was a rather small
man, slenderly built, with long sensitive hands and a very bald head, in
the center of which a tuft of hair stood comically upright. These
characteristics, coupled to the squinting eyes, gave the man a very odd
appearance.