He spoke
truly when he called this his cabin."
"Unless he just found it empty and took the use of it without asking
the owner," suggested Ruth. "I wish we knew more about him."
"So do I," agreed Alice. "I wonder if he really had to go away in the
storm, or whether he knew we would not come in the cabin while he was
here, and so made an excuse to leave it to us alone?"
"If he did that it certainly was very kind of him," said Ruth.
"Perhaps he is bashful and shy," observed Alice. "He ran before, when
he saw us on the bridge, and now he runs away and leaves us his
house--such as it is. Clearly there is some mystery about him. Oh,
listen to the rain!"
Indeed the storm was at its height now, and the girls were glad of
the shelter of the cabin. As the man had said, there was a leak
somewhere in the roof, and they could hear the steady drip, drip of
water falling. But they did not see it, and the cabin seemed quite
dry. It was a shelter from the wind, too, which was now blowing
fiercely, bending the trees before the might of its blast.
But, like all summer showers, this was not destined to last long. Its
fury kept up a little longer, and then began to die away. Gradually
the lightning grew less vivid, and the flashes were farther apart.
The thunder rumbled less heavily and the rain slackened.
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