“Oh, Billie, suppose it were the Codfish!” whispered Vi, and Laura looked disgusted.

   “It isn’t apt to be the Codfish,” returned Billie. “But whoever it is, I think we’d better be careful.

   We’ll go up to it softly and look about a bit. Please don’t any one speak until we’re sure it’s all right.”

   The girls were used to obeying Billie, even impulsive Laura, so now they followed softly at her heels, stepping over twigs so as to make no noise.

   “Goodness! anybody would think we were thieves ourselves,” Laura giggled hysterically, and Billie looked back at her warningly.

   It was a strange thing and strangely made, this remote little shelter in the woods. It probably had some sort of framework of wood inside, but all the girls could see from the outside was a rude structure entirely covered by moss and interwoven twigs. In fact, unless one looked closely, one might think that the little hut was no hut at all, but part of the foliage itself.

   The girls could find no windows, but as they moved cautiously around the hut Billie came upon a small door. The latter was hardly more than four feet high, and the girls would have to stoop considerably to get through it.

   “For goodness sake, open it, Billie,” Laura whispered close in her ear. “It’s beginning to pour pitchforks and I’m getting soaking wet. I don’t care if a hyena lives in there, I’m going in too.”

   Billie wanted to laugh, but she was too wet and nervous. So she opened the little door cautiously and peered inside.

   For a minute she could not tell whether the hut

   was empty or not, for it was very very dark. But as her eyes became accustomed to the darkness she felt sure that the place was empty.

   “Come on,” she called over her shoulder to the girls, her voice still cautiously lowered. “I can’t see very well, but I guess there’s nobody at home.”

   The girls had to stoop almost double to enter the tiny door, but once inside they were surprised to find that they could stand upright.

   They were in almost entire darkness, the only patch of light coming from the little door that Vi had left open. Suddenly they began to feel panicky again.

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