Part 2 (1/2)

”And here's a pantry!” exclaimed Vi excitedly. ”Look, girls, shelves and cans of things and--and--everything!”

The interior of the place was made of rough boards, rudely thrown together as if by an amateur. Why the person who had made the little cabin had not laid boards for his floor, n.o.body could tell. Perhaps he had run short of lumber or perhaps he preferred the hard earth floor.

As Vi had said, in one corner some boards had been nailed up to form shelves, and there were several tins of canned goods upon the shelves.

Quite evidently this must be the queer owner's pantry.

Besides this, the cot, the table, and an oddly-shaped chair, which had evidently been made from an old soap box, made the only furnis.h.i.+ngs of the place.

”I wonder,” said Billie, looking about her while a sort of awe crept into her voice, ”what the person is like that lives here. He must be very queer, to say the least.”

”Oh,” cried Vi, all her old fears coming back again. ”Girls, I'd almost forgotten the Codfish. Do you suppose--”

”No, we don't,” said Laura shortly, wis.h.i.+ng that the very mention of the Codfish would not send the cold chills all over her. ”Goodness, just listen to that rain,” she added, s.h.i.+vering. ”I guess we're in for a night of it.”

”But we can't stay _here_ all night,” said Billie anxiously.

”Suppose the owner should come back,” added Vi, her teeth beginning to chatter.

”Well, he could only kill us if he did,” said Laura gloomily.

”Besides, there are three of us to his one,” said Billie, trying to speak lightly. But Laura spoiled the attempt by adding more gloomily than ever:

”How do we know there's only one of him?”

”Well it doesn't look as if a whole family resided here.”

”That's so too--but there may be two, at least.”

Again the girls looked around the queer place. They saw a few tools as if somebody had spent time in woodworking. There were shavings and parts of cut tree branches and strips of bark.

”I'll wager he's a queer stick--whoever he is,” was Billie's comment.

”And what will he say if he finds us here, prying into his private affairs?” came from Laura, with something of a s.h.i.+ver. ”Oh!”

All uttered a little cry as a crash of thunder reached them. Then the rain seemed to come down harder than ever.

”Just listen to that!”

”It's good we are under cover. If we weren't we'd be drowned!”

The rain came in at one corner of the shelter, forming a pool on the hard floor. But it did not reach the girls, for which they were thankful.

”I wonder how long it will last,” sighed Vi presently.

”Maybe all night,” returned Billie.

”Oh, do you really think it will last that long?” came pleadingly.

”You know as much about it as I do.”