Page:Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake.djvu/223

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THE MISSING SADDLE
209

you knew me; didn't you?" The handsome animal whinnied, and rubbed his nose against Will's arm.

"And so you played the part of a ghost, you rascal! Scaring the girls——"

"We'll never admit that," called Betty from the tent.

There was nothing more to do that night, after making Prince secure. The boys ate a little midnight supper, and from the tent of the girls came the odor of chocolate, which Grace insisted on making. Then, after fitful slumbers, morning came.

Will was up early to examine Prince. He found the healed cut, where the auto had struck, and there was evidence that the saddle had been on the animal until recently. The iron stirrups would account for the sound like chains.

"The saddle must be somewhere on this island," declared Will. "I'm going to find it."

"How?" asked Allen, who had made a careful toilet, as Betty had promised to go for a row with him.

"I'll strap a pack on Prince, get on his back, and see where he takes me. The way I figure is this. Prince never liked to be in the open. I'm almost certain he has been staying in some sort of shelter—either a cave, or an old cabin, or