The Girls of Central High in Camp: or, the Old Professor's Secret

“Ye – yes?” said Mrs. Morse, rather doubtfully.

“I pray that you will not blame Lizzie Bean. She would sacrifice herself for my safety; but I could hardly allow her to do that, don’t you know? I had an idea that that sheriff would really not come to this camp, and I could get away again after dark.”

Lil had given over any intention of screaming again. She was examining the scratched face of the strange young man with growing approval.

“Isn’t he romantic looking?” she whispered to Nellie.

“Poor fellow,” sighed the doctor’s daughter. “He doesn’t look wicked, does he?”

“He’s a regular heart-breaker when he’s dolled up, I bet,” giggled Bobby.

“It’s too bad!” murmured the Lockwood twins, in unison.

Thus did the appearance of the young man, Mr. Norman Halliday, tell upon the covey of frightened girls. Mrs. Morse herself began to recover from her disturbance of mind. This was no criminal character, for sure!

Suddenly the sheriff in the tree set up a bellow: “That’s the feller I want! That’s him! Don’t you let him escape–”

“Why don’t you come down and take him?” demanded Bobby, wickedly.

But immediately the Barnacle began leaping under the tree and barking and Sheriff Larkin climbed higher.

“You see, the police want me,” explained the young man, simply.

“We – we should judge so,” gasped Mrs. Morse.

“But I really don’t want to be arrested. Especially by this sheriff. I do not want the bank I work for to be put to the expense of paying him a reward for my apprehension.”

This sounded rather odd – from a criminal!

“You see,” went on the young man, with a more cheerful smile, “I am going to return to Albany when my attorney lets me know that I may safely do so. Had I remained when I was first charged with the crime of forging names to coupons and bonds, and selling the same for my own benefit, I could not have disproved the accusation.”

“It had been arranged to make me a ‘scapegoat’ – to railroad me to jail, in fact. But I have one good friend, at least – my uncle, Professor Dimp. You all doubtless know him, and know what a really fine old fellow he is,” said the young man, heartily.

“He is paying my lawyer’s expenses, and he insisted, too, upon coming up here into the Big Woods and staying with me. That’s why I was really obliged to rob your larder one night. I dared not appear at any store to buy food, and I could not let the dear old man go hungry. I hope the money I left was sufficient to pay for the food?”

“Certainly – certainly,” murmured Mrs. Morse, while the girls listened in wide-eyed amazement.

“The Professor is just a brick,” continued Mr. Norman Halliday, “as of course you all know–”

“You bet we do!” burst out Bobby, her face aflame. “Three cheers for Old D–That is, for Professor Asa Dimp!”

“Thank you, Miss Hargrew,” said the dry voice of the absent-minded old professor. “I did not know I was so well appreciated by the girls of Central High.”

But Laura showed her appreciation in an entirely unlooked for way. As the professor walked into the open from the woods, she darted for him, seized him tightly in her arms, and planted a kiss first on one, and then on his other unshaven cheek.

“Bless my soul! bless my soul!” gasped Professor Dimp, who had probably not been kissed before in years.

“You’re a perfect old dear!” declared Laura, in a low voice. “And I am never going to be afraid of you again. Your nephew showed that he had a tender heart when he was kind to Lizzie Bean; and I believe he gets it honestly —from you! Dear Professor Dimp!”

“Ha!” said the old gentleman, drily, yet flushing a little, too, “I can see very clearly that I shall hereafter have very mediocre recitations from the girls of Central High. They will no longer fear me.”

At that moment the motorboat that had been skimming across from the main land, pushed her nose against the shore of the island. One of the first persons to land was a gentleman with a green bag in his hand who hurried up the hill to greet the professor and his nephew, the much disheveled Mr. Halliday.

“The best of news Mr. Halliday – and you, my dear Professor Dimp,” this gentleman said. “The evidence is concluded. The guilty director has been arrested and the reward for your capture, Mr. Halliday, has been withdrawn. I have come to take you back to Albany where your name will be completely cleared of the false accusation.”

“Hurrah!” shouted Bobby again, and waving her hand at the dog and the sheriff on the other side of the hill. “Come away, Barnacle; you may let the sheriff down out of the tree.”

Dear me! It took nearly all day to explain affairs, after all. The sheriff, and his bloodhounds, and his posse departed unnoticed by the rejoicing party in the camp of the Central High girls.

The girls and boys made a hero out of Professor Dimp. And he was not a bad sort after all – as they found out upon closer acquaintance.

“We shall not let Professor Dimp hide his light under a bushel,” cried Laura Belding, otherwise Mother Wit. “Whenever there is anything else exciting going on for the girls of Central High, he shall be in it.”

All the males of the party later piled into the Bonnie Lass to return to the boys’ camp. There the lawyer had left a team with which he was going to take Norman Halliday out of the Big Woods to the railway station.

But the professor promised to remain at least another week, as the guest of the boys. That week was the very jolliest week of all the vacation at Lake Dunkirk, both for the boys, and for the Girls of Central High.