CHAPTER XXIV--THE WIRELESS OPERATOR
"Yes, that is the only thing we can do," said Nathalie quickly, "butsuppose the doctor is not there! You know the boys said they were goingon a two or three days' tramp this week."
"Well, I'll tell you how we can settle that problem and make sure,"replied Lillie, whose mind acted quickly. "Suppose we row over whileEdith goes on her wheel to Mrs. Hansen's and telephones to Boonton."
"What, go all that distance alone in the dark?" protested the Sport inan appalled tone, "and then I don't know what doctor to telephone to!"
"What, Edith, do you want us to think that you are really afraid?"laughed Lillie; "_you_, the girl who has never shown the white featherat any dare? Why, I--"
But Nathalie's cheery voice, like oil on troubled waters, interposedquickly, "Of course she is not afraid, but it is an unpleasant thing todo to ride that distance alone at night. But we can't take chances, andwe must have a doctor. And as to the one you telephone to, Edith," shecried, turning to that young lady, whose face had brightened somewhat,"call Dr. McGill, he's the little white-haired doctor who called on Dr.Morrow the other day. He lives at Boonton."
Without another protest Edith turned, and after running back to thecheer fire circle to inform Helen what the girls were going to do, shehurried after her wheel. A few minutes later, with the lantern fastenedto the front of it, flickering like a firefly as she sped through thewoods, she was on her way to the farm to telephone.
Lillie and Nathalie had hurried down to the boathouse, and in a flash oftime had unfastened one of the row boats. Springing quickly in, theywere soon out some distance from shore, rowing as rapidly as they couldtowards the opposite bank. It was a weird night, the sky seemed hungwith heavy black curtains, the only light being that from the moon, asat rare intervals she darted swiftly through some opening between theclouds, or betrayed her presence by streaks of foamy silver on the edgeof some unusually inky cloud.
But the path across the Lake was a familiar one, and ten minutes laterthe girls reached the opposite shores. "Why, it looks as if there wasn'ta soul about," exclaimed Lillie, as, after drawing in their oars, thetwo girls stood up in the boat and peered anxiously through the bit ofwoodland that led to the camp, whose signal lantern glimmered dimlythrough the foliage of the trees.
"I guess you're right, Nathalie, the boys must be on a tramp," saidLillie after several loud "Hellos!" the only reply to which had been afaint echo from across the Lake.
Putting her fingers to her mouth Lillie emitted several sharp whistles,but still no sign of life! "Huh, it looks as if it was a case ofGoldsmith's 'Deserted Village,'" she soliloquized dismally, but Nathaliewas busy giving the Pioneer yell. This evoked such a strange medley ofechoing sounds that the girls burst out laughing.
Nathalie's face soon sobered, however, as she exclaimed dolefully, "Odear, it does seem as if we were destined to have bad luck. I wonder ifthey could have gone to bed!" burst from her in sudden thought.
"If they have, we'll soon rout them out," declared Lillie, jumping onthe bank. "Come on, let's drag the boat up and then hike to camp."
After slipping on pine needles, stumbling over gnarled roots andblackened stumps, they finally found the path, devoutly thankful thatthe moon had at last emerged from behind the clouds. Indeed, as theystepped from the shadows of the woods and stood on the campus--as thescouts called the level space in front of the tents--the moon was shiningwith a brightness that equalled the day.
As the girls' eyes traveled from the pots on the top pole suspended overwhat had once been a camp fire to the rows of tents, whose open flapsrevealed that they were tenantless, Lillie uttered a sudden cry ofdelighted surprise!
The next moment she had shot across the campus, for she had spied awhite paper fastened to one of the larger tents, directly under theglare of the lantern above the door.
"Hurrah! we're in luck," she cried, wildly jubilant, pointing to thewhite paper as Nathalie reached her side. "Read that!" The girl steppedcloser and slowly deciphered from the big black letters in charcoalprint:
"Have gone to the Scout Council at the rooms of the Wolf Patrol at Boonton. "G. A. Homer, Scoutmaster."
"But that does not help us any!" Nathalie said when she finished readingthe notice, her face losing its eagerness as she faced her companion.
"Indeed it does, goosie," replied Lillie stoutly, "for the doctor has awireless. So have the scouts at Boonton, for I heard one of the boystell of a message one of them had picked up the other night, the nightwe had that awful thunder storm, don't you remember? So don't say we'renot lucky, Nathalie Page, after finding that note. I'll warrant you,though, that some of the scouts did go on a tramp, and that the doctorleft that word in case they returned before he did. But let's look forthat wireless!"
Surmising that the tent with the note pinned on the flap must be Dr.Homer's, the girls hastened in, and by the light from the lantern whichNathalie had taken from the pole by standing on a couple of soap-boxesshe had found, it was soon discovered on a roughly-hewn table in acorner of the tent.
This time the wireless key did its work; there was a sharp crack, theamateur wireless operator had clicked off the R. Z., the camp's privatecall, and then with palpitating heart and expectant eyes sat waiting tosee if it had been picked up. Suddenly her face broke into a smile, foras she "listened in," she caught the wireless O. K. G. (go ahead). Shewent ahead, and in a few moments had made the operator at the Patrolrooms understand that Dr. Homer was wanted. There was a moment's delay,and then the doctor himself was sending a message through the air. Ittook but a short space of time for Nathalie to click off why he waswanted, and how the girls had come to wire him from the scout camp.
"Now let's make tracks for home," said Lillie as Nathalie hung up thelantern on the pole again. "I am afraid it may rain, for I thought Iheard thunder." But she must have been mistaken, for not a clouddisturbed the soft silver haze that guided them across the Lake to CampLaff-a-Lot.
"Dear me," ejaculated Nathalie an hour later as she and Helen wereundressing for bed, "what a lot of things have happened in the two weekswe have been at camp! But how glad I am that Dr. Homer got here in time,and that the baby is all right."
"Well, it ought to be, with two doctors on the job," retorted Helen withher usual bluntness. "Isn't that old Dr. McGill jolly?"
"Oh, yes, it was comical to see him look the baby over, and then declarethat there was nothing for him to do but to look wise, as Dr. Homer haddone all there was to be done. What a chummy confab they had too, afterit was all over! He was so pleased to meet Dr. Homer, he said, for hehad heard Dr. Morrow speak of him."
"Well, one thing's settled, Miss Blue Robin," remarked Helen decidedly,"and that is that Miss Camphelia is not to have any more sweets. I halfsuspect that Carol tried to stuff her with a bite of green apple, forshe looked frightened to death when she saw that she was ill. Dr. Homersaid there had been too much mothering going on. I just knew it wouldcome to this, the way--"
"Stop your scolding, Lady Fuss," laughed Nathalie, "for it seems to methat I saw you trying to stuff the kiddie with a lollipop the other day.But, anyway, the rules have been posted, 'No one to feed, or to handleMiss Camphelia without permission of the head nurse, Miss EllenCarmichael!' I'm dead for sleep, so good night!"
* * * * *
The camp presented an appearance of unusual activity, with flags andbunting rippling in the sunlit air, and girls, scouts, and villageguests in a state of restless progression, for it was the Pioneer SportDay. The girls were in a whirl as they flew hither and thither, seeingthat everything was in readiness for the anticipated fun, the visitorscuriously prying into the living arrangements of this girls' camp, whilethe scouts impatiently tramped about, waiting for the sports to begin.
Ah, there was the bugle call, the signal for a rush down to the shoresof the Lake to witness the aquatic feats of the young campers! "Aghostly dive," rea
d Fred Tyson slowly from an imposing little program,hand-printed in red, and tied to a birch-bark cover with sweet-grass."I'd like to know--" but his query was cut short as the bugle againsounded to announce that the first race was to start.
Fred turned his eyes towards the pier and stared curiously at the littlefigure in a khaki suit with red tie and hat, standing so proudly erecton a small platform as the Pioneer announcer for the day. Could it be?Yes it was Miss Anita Van Vorst, with her knapsack so adroitly arrangedthat no one would have suspected she was the little humpback who hadonce only taken an outing when wheeled in a chair.
A sudden scurry from the boat-house of two ghostly figures, a quick rushup the plank leading to the barrel platform,--Peter's diving-tower,--thespectral habiliments suddenly flung away to float with the tide, and twoblue-suited forms had sped swiftly downward.
There was a splash, a shower of silvery spray, a few bubbles, and twoheads were bobbing about like floating corks. The next minute Kitty andEdith were swimming swiftly back to the pier, Edith in the lead, andKitty a close second amid the noisy hurrahs from their friends on thebank. Edith, of course, won the blue, and with a wave of her hand as anacknowledgment to the cheering audience darted quickly back to theboat-house.
A tennis match now followed, which proved to be Lillie and Jessiearrayed in tennis-suits seated in wooden tubs with tennis-rackets forpaddles, paddling to the goal, an anchored raft some yards from shore.Lillie was the winner this time, and, amid a general laugh received herprize, a dime and pin, with radiant smiles from the bugler on the pier.
A pioneer race was engaged in by two Orioles, one in the costume of acolonial maiden of Plymouth town, while the other closely resembledpictures of that laggard in love, John Alden. The contestants swam tothe raft where they attempted in double-quick time to divest themselvesof their old-time clothes, the one, of course, who accomplished thisfeat first having the best chance to win the race.
But shoes would stick, strings would knot, and buttons wouldn'tunfasten. Nannie Plummer at last was free, and jumped back to the water.But alas, her bonnet still clung to her; no, not to her head, but to oneof her feet, causing her audience to shout with merriment at her anticsto rid herself of this obstacle, while Johnnie the slow was still makingfutile endeavors to rid herself of her undesirable trousers.
A Japanese race was applauded perhaps as much for its picturesqueness asfor the skill displayed, as two daintily gowned figures,--one in a pinkand one in a blue flowered kimono, with flowers and fans coquettishlyarranged a la Japanese in their hair--with mincing steps hied themselvesdown to their boats. Here, each one holding an umbrella in one hand anda palm-leaf fan in the other, they paddled out to the stake boat.
"Gee whiz! I'd like to know how they make those fans work!" exclaimedTeddie Hart in puzzled tone, to the joy of a group of girls near by, whogiggled unrestrainedly as they saw that they had succeeded in mystifyingtheir scout friends. Perhaps Peter, if he had minded, could haveexplained that a flat board to which the fans were nailed did the work.
A Silver Race was composed of teams of two, rowing out to the raft andback, each girl holding a silver spoon in her mouth containing an egg.The winners were Nathalie and Edith, who reached shore with their eggsintact, while Lillie Bell and a Bob White raced back to land withstreams of yellow dripping from their faces and clothes, the race rulesrequiring that each racer should return to the shore with what remainedof the egg.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine created yells of laughter, as Helenstepped gingerly along with bare feet on a peeled pine sapling suspendedover the shallow water near the shore. It was greased, of course, butthe red apple at its end proved an incentive as the girl slippedcautiously towards it. Hurrah, she was almost there! Hadn't shepracticed that feat for days? There was a sudden swerve to one side, thesupple figure tottered, and then Miss Helen plunged to her fate in thewater below. But she only laughed with the spectators as she wrung outher skirts and scurried for the bank, while Barbara began her greasycareer.
Surely she had rosin on her feet! No, she didn't, for the next momentshe too was clawing the air. She swayed for a minute like a reed in thewind, and then went down, not into the water, but on the pole where shegazed with a bewildered stare in her near-sighted eyes at the jeeringlittle prize that had proved so elusive.
The first number of the land sports was a contest in the air, theperformers walking on stilts while balancing potatoes on their heads. Atilting joust also took place, and helped to prove that the time thegirls had spent in making and walking on the stilts had not been wasted.
The Up Against It Race, turned out to be an obstacle race, one of theobstacles being twelve eggs to be picked up from the ground and placedin a basket. The second obstacle was hailed with deafening shouts, forit was no other than Miss Camphelia sitting on the race-trackcontentedly sucking a lollipop. She was speedily seized by thecontestant and arrayed in a coat and hat, while gazing with wonderingeyes at this new red-faced mother. The girl who made the best time as anegg-picker and baby-dresser proved to be an Oriole, and was dulyapplauded for her speed and deftness.
In the Light that Failed contest the fair racers made a twenty-yard dashcarrying lighted candles and pails of water, one in each hand, at thesame time. All lights flickered out to be sure, but the one that lastedthe longest won the contest for its holder.
A fifty-yard dash won by Edith now followed, while one of the Bob Whitesbroke the tape at a twenty-five yard dash. In a Ring the Bellcompetition the girls were divided into teams, the team having thegreatest number of girls who threw a bean bag through a barrel-hoop witha bell hung in its center without touching the bell were the jubilantones.
Lillie and Edith now gave an exhibition of wigwagging, using the Myerscode, in which nearly all the girls were proficient. Lillie, to herdelight, showed the most proficiency, although Edith had generally beenconsidered the greatest expert in this science. An Indian-club drill,and a nail-driving contest not only showed the scouts what their sisterscould accomplish in the way of strength, and manual labor, but broughtthe sports for the day to a close.
By this time pangs of hunger began to assail the jolly campers, andNita, with a strenuous toot of her horn, made known that a GrubContest--a hike for supper packages hidden in the woods, among the rockson the shore, or around the tents--would now take place. With muchlaughter and jesting the girls lined up opposite the boys, and at threeblasts of the bugle they were off, flying in all directions, each onebent on searching some one particular locality that he or she had inmind. The fortunate ones were soon shouting hilariously; in fact eventhe slow ones were keener than usual in this supper hike, and soonbagged their game and cheered lustily as they returned to camp.
Every one now gathered around the dining-room table--appropriatelydecorated for the occasion--and was soon dulling appetite with the choicebits found in the packages that had been done up by the Pioneers buthidden by Mrs. Morrow and Mrs. Van Vorst.
As they frolicked over the supper it was voted that every one presentcontribute to the moment's pleasure by telling a story, singing a song,asking a conundrum, and so on. A ball was passed to Helen whoimmediately told a funny story, and ended by tossing the ball toNathalie, the rule being that the reciter was to throw the ball to anyone he or she chose, which resulted in its being thrown to the moretimid or lazy ones, thus causing surprise and laughter.
Nathalie made a rhyme impromptu, then tossed the ball to one of theboys, and so it kept going the rounds, not only bracing the timid ornervous ones, but revealing latent talent that had never been suspected.
Teddy Hart, who had played the knight to the announcer of the day, MissAnita, spied her laughing at his antics when he was called to the frontand mischievously tossed the ball to her. The smile died on the girl'sface and she gasped with a start of terror, but in a moment, with adefiant toss of her head, she started in and recited some funny versesso comically that she received an ovation of cheers and claps.
When Nathalie perceived this unexpected turn i
n the festivity, her heartwent pit-a-pat in sympathy with Nita's unexpected ordeal, but when shesaw the upward toss of her head and the flash in her eyes, she knew thegirl would prove game. Indeed, she had been proving game for the lastten days or more, for Helen's plan of helping her to know the girls hadsucceeded so well that Nita had lost much of her supersensitiveness inregard to her deformity, by being made to forget it and by thekindliness and deference shown her by both girls and boys.
The intimacy that had come from tenting with the different Pioneers hadnot only shown her the need of correcting many of her own faults, buthad revealed the good points of her associates. Many of the girls shehad secretly vowed to Nathalie she would never care for, she hadaccepted as the best of friends.
From being deemed an aristocrat of whom the girls stood slightly in awe,thinking her proud and exclusive, she had proved to be most democratic,entirely devoid of the many airs and graces they feared. In fact she hadbecome, as Nathalie said, a favorite with every one, and had nearly asmany adorers as Miss Camphelia, who at that moment was having a mostbeautiful time eating bread and milk in the lap of Ellen, gurgling andwinking with baby joy at the gay colors and lights that held her eye.
Supper over, the campers hurried to the cheer fire circle where a tall,uncouth-looking object covered with sheets towered specter-like in thecenter. Helen, mounting a small platform, announced that the campers hadgathered to celebrate the burning of Miss Dummy, who represented theevil spirits that had run riot during their stay at camp.
An Oriole girl now came to the fore as chairman of the spirit committee,as it was called, and made known that a thorough investigation hadbrought to light many evil spirits that had dominated certain members ofthe camp at intervals, not only hindering the development of character,but causing discomfort and a few heartaches among their mates.
The evil spirits of grouchiness, shiftlessness, dishonesty, andselfishness, in a sense, had been tamed by the Pioneers' laws and theflames from their cheer fire so that they had not caused much havoc, butthere were a few evil ones not so familiar, perhaps, that had persistedin doing their evil work. The principal ones, she claimed, wereforgetting each one's own particular failing in the fun of ridiculingthe faults and eccentricities of her mates, the disloyalty to one's selfby not trying to do one's best, a habit of giggling when there wasnothing to giggle at, a desire to shirk responsibility by letting theother one do work that was distasteful, and the weakness of lettingone's nerves get the better of one on certain occasions instead ofgetting the better of the nerves.
Of course this caused much laughter, although each girl recognized herown particular fault, and then and there secretly swore that she wouldsubdue it or die in the attempt.
Helen now asked if there was any reason why the evil spirits justmentioned should not be disposed of for good and all. Receiving a shoutthat evidently meant a big "No!" she pulled a string, the ghostlikegarments fell to the ground, and Miss Dummy stood revealed, an effigyarrayed in an old suit belonging to one of the Pioneers, even to thestaff and knapsack, surmounting a pile of dried twigs and brush.
"Miss Dummy," solemnly continued Helen, with as straight a face as shecould muster as she confronted the ludicrous-looking evil one, who, withhat awry, huge red nose, and goggle-eyes, stared at her with a leer, "Iconsign to thee those evil spirits that have caused sorrow andheartaches among the members of Camp Laff-a-Lot, to be burned until thouart ashes, and then to be buried at the bottom of the lake to lie thereforever!"
As she ended there was a sudden scurry forward as each Pioneer made oneof a circle kneeling around Miss Dummy, and in an instant's time hadstruck her match and applied it to one of the twigs which served as apedestal for the evil one. As the firewood had been well oiled it caughtquickly from the blue sputterings of so many matches, and yellow flameswere soon shooting savagely upward to glow like strings of scarlet amongthe twigs and briers, causing them to snap and crackle hilariously. In amoment darting tongues were licking Miss Dummy's red cheeks with fierygreed and floated upward to circle about in wreaths of white and blacksmoke.
She dropped the ashes of Miss Dummy into the placidwater.]
Some of the unduly imaginative girls turned away, declaring that theeffigy looked like some one of the girls in that suit in the reddenedglare of the flames. But the rest joined hands with the scouts andleaped merrily about the blazing pyre, executing weird and strangegyrations, which they termed a fire dance, as a last farewell to theirenemy, who finally, done to the death, tumbled to the ground a fierymass of scarlet embers. A pail of water soon quenched the last of thespirits, when the ashes were gathered into a big pail and carried in aprocession to the shores of the lake.
Here Helen, holding the pail carefully in her hand, stepped into arow-boat and was conveyed to the middle of the lake. By the light of themoon just peeping above the horizon she dropped the ashes of Miss Dummyinto the placid water, and to the singing of a comic dirge, composed byone of the Orioles, was rowed silently back to shore.