The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills Or, The Missing Pilot of the White Mountains   By: Janet Aldridge

or

The Missing Pilot of the White Mountains

by

JANET ALDRIDGE

Author of the Meadow Brook Girls Under Canvas, The Meadow Brook Girls Across Country, The Meadow Brook Girls Afloat, The Meadow Brook Girls by the Sea, etc.

[Frontispiece: "I'm the guide, Janus Grubb."]

The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in U. S. A. Copyright MCMXIV By the Saalfield Publishing Company

Table of Contents

CHAPTER

I The Man with the Green Goggles II Miss Elting's Mysterious Caller III The Start that Came to Grief IV An Exciting Night V On the Burning Bridge VI Their Troubles Multiply VII Horses Give the Alarm VIII Crazy Jane's "Find" IX Scaling the High Cliffs X A Slippery Climb XI The Tragedy of Chocorua XII Tommy Falls Out of Bed XIII Placing the Blame XIV Giving a Toboggan Points XV Leaving the Trail in a Hurry XVI "Such a Lovely Slide" XVII What Came of Shooting the Chute XVIII Face by a Fresh Mystery XIX The Story the Light Told XX Seeking a Desperate Revenge XXI The Ascent of Mt. Washington XXII A Rout and a Capture XXIII A Mysterious Disappearance XXIV Conclusion

Illustrations

"I'm the guide, Janus Grubb." . . . . . . Frontispiece

"Green goggles!" cried Harriet excitedly.

Up and up wound the trail.

The Meadow Brook Girls in the Hills

CHAPTER I

THE MAN WITH GREEN GOGGLES

"I hear that Janus Grubb is going to take a passel of gals on a tramp over the hills," observed the postmaster, helping himself to a cracker from the grocer's barrel.

"Gals?" questioned the storekeeper.

"Yes. There's a lot of mail here for the parties, mostly postals. Can't make much out of the postals, but some of the letters I can read through the envelopes by holding them against the window."

"Lemme have a look," urged the grocer eagerly.

"Not by a hatful. I'm an officer of the government. The secrets of the government must be guarded, I tell ye. There's six of them "

"You don't say! Six letters?" interrupted the grocer.

"No, gals. One's name is Elting. She's what they call a chaperon. Another is Jane McCarthy I reckon some relation of the party who wrote me a letter asking what I knew about Jan. I reckon Jan got the job on my recommendation."

"Who are these girls, and what do they think they're goin' to do up here?"

"Call themselves 'The Meadow Brook Gals.' Funny name, eh?" grinned the postmaster, balancing a soda cracker on the tip of his forefinger, then deftly tossing it edgewise into his open mouth. "They pay Janus ten dollars a week for toting them around," he chuckled. "Read it in the McCarthy party's letter to Jan."

"What are they going to do up in the hills?"

"Climb over the rocks for their health," grinned the postmaster.

"Huh! When they coming to town?"

"On the evening mail train to day. Hello! There's Jan now on his way to meet them. Say! Will you look at him! Jan's had his whiskers pruned. And, I swum, if he hasn't got on a new pair of boots. Git them of you?"

The storekeeper nodded.

"How much?" demanded the postmaster.

"Four seventy three. Knocked down from five dollars. Wish I'd known he was going to draw down ten dollars a week for this job. I'd have got four seventy five at least for the boots."

"Never mind, you can let Jan make it up on something else," comforted the postmaster. "Reckon I'll go down to the station to see the folks come in."

"I was going to ask you to look after the store while I went down," returned the grocer.