begin with. And then he remembered that Bert Sands had said that she and Jack were planning to do some exploring on the Manoa ridges, and on the chance that it might be they, he reached to his desk for his field glasses which he had on hand for bird study.
At first he could not make out much, as the trampers were going through some tangles of vines and scrub growths; but presently they came more into the open and he saw that there were three in the party and Bert evidently not among them, as she always wore knickers when she hiked, and the two women of this group both wore skirts, and the other member was undoubtedly a man. Listlessly he watched their progress, through the glass, as they came nearer along the top of the ridge. Occasionally they stopped and appeared to reconnoiter, and then came on over the rough way until they were nearly opposite his own lanai. Here they stopped and sat down, evidently to rest, facing in his direction. Then both of the women lifted off their broad-brimmed hats, and something in the movement made Dick suddenly sit up and quickly turn his glasses to better focus. They were good glasses and it took but a glance to tell him that the group opposite him consisted of the two Morton girls and Carter McKnight. But what the deuce were they doing there? If what Bert Sands had said about the girls' inert habits was true, then why
