Page:Betty Gordon at Boarding School.djvu/146

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CHAPTER XVIII


LIBBIE'S SECRET


Gilbert Lane was the first to recover his voice.

"Well, what do you know about that!" he ejaculated. "The old bird was here all the time."

"Are—are—are there any more of them?" stammered Louise.

"No, that old fellow is the only Indian for miles around," said Gilbert carelessly. "He was left behind, the fellows at school say, when that band stole the Macklin treasure. They had a grudge against him, it seems, and they tripped him and left him with a broken leg. He worked around on different farms for years and now does a day's work often enough to keep him in food. Queer old dick, I guess."

"What makes you girls look so funny?" demanded Sydney. "You're not afraid now, are you? That Indian won't come back—he was more afraid of us than we were of him. I figure out he was asleep when we came in and the noise woke him up. What are you smiling about?"

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