CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A VISIT TO GRANNY DUNSTAN'S CABIN
Mr. Gilroy's "suite of rooms" was put in order by the men before theywent back to Elmertown, and not only the walnut bed helped furnish thechamber, but several other pieces of furniture were carried back fromthe stack beside the shed, and placed to add a look of comfort to the"room."
When all was done and the visitors were ready to leave, the scoutsdeclared they would accompany their relatives down the slope and passjudgment on the "suite" to be occupied by their guest.
"It may be healthy to sleep out under the trees like this, but I prefera plaster ceiling," laughed Mr. Lee, waving his hand at the open woodsthat was to be Mr. Gilroy's chamber.
"That's because you never tried Nature's ceiling. Once you sleep out inthe open, you will never want to try indoors again," replied Mr. Gilroy.
"I'd better not try it, then. I have to remain at home and see that someone provides the 'pot-boiler,'" returned Mr. Lee.
The visitors climbed into the jitney and said good-by, and the scoutsturned to go up the hill again, when Mrs. Vernon remarked: "Now that youhave a boarder to look after, you must pay more attention to yourcookery. Mr. Gilroy must not regret having accepted our invitation tocamp with us for a few days."
"But our invitation had 'a string' to it, Verny," added Julielaughingly.
"That's true--I said I would take 'pot luck' and teach the scouts manycamping tricks to boot!" declared Mr. Gilroy.
Sunday morning at breakfast Mrs. Vernon said she was very anxious tomeet young Dunstan, for he might have met her son in the AviationService. Then she had to tell Mr. Gilroy about it.
"I thought I would like to drive down to Freedom later in the day, Mrs.Vernon, and see if there was any mail for me. It was to be forwardedfrom Junction, you know. If you would care to go and ask about Dunstan,we might make a little party of it," suggested Mr. Gilroy.
"Yes, Verny, let's!" exclaimed the scouts.
"I am willing, as there seems little else one can do," added Mrs.Vernon.
So Hepsy was hitched to the buckboard and the campers climbed in. Asthey started down the trail, Ruth remarked: "We ought to be thankful theposse found our hamper and seat in the Cave, and brought it back tocamp."
"Yes, or we'd have to ride on the floor of the buckboard," added Joan.
"We'd have more room there than on this seat," retorted Julie, who wasclinging to the iron rail.
"We can take turns walking if we are too crowded," suggested Mr. Gilroy,who shared the back seat with two scouts.
"We'll have to do that, anyway, when Hepsy comes to a hill," laughedMrs. Vernon.
So with light banter the party rode to Freedom; there they were receivedlike heroes, for every inhabitant of Freedom had clipped the papers andsaved the items that mentioned the capture of the convicts. While Mr.Gilroy went with Lemuel to get his letters, Mrs. Vernon asked if youngDunstan had been heard from.
"Not yet, but sometimes he takes the Crest Trail to hum. In that case,he nary comes nigh Freedom," replied an old native.
"Where does the Crest Trail start?" asked Mrs. Vernon.
"Wall, that's the way Mr. Gilroy went from Junction. It runs along thetop affer one gits halfway up from Junction."
As this description was not very accurate, the Captain decided to trustto Mr. Gilroy's ability to lead them there. So she made a proposition toMr. Gilroy. The girls did not hear what it was, so they knew nothing ofthe outing planned for the morrow.
"I think it will be fine, Captain, and I will see the man who has chargeof the stable," returned Mr. Gilroy, in a low voice.
Soon after this Mr. Gilroy went down the main street and turned in atthe livery stable. He was not gone long, however, and when he returned,he nodded satisfactorily to Mrs. Vernon.
That night Mrs. Vernon said to the scouts: "You must all go to bedearly, as we have a jaunt planned for you to-morrow. Breakfast must beout of the way quite early, as we hope to start from camp about eighto'clock."
"Where are we going, Verny?" asked Ruth.
"I heard Verny asking about Dunstan's Cabin, and I bet she plans for usto walk there," quickly added Julie.
Mrs. Vernon smiled at this added proof of Julie's mental alertness, butshe shook her head as she said: "Not a walk, but a ride."
"A drive, you mean," corrected Joan.
"No--just what I said. There will be horses from Freedom brought to campbefore eight to-morrow, if it is clear," explained Mrs. Vernon.
"Good gracious! I haven't any habit!" exclaimed Ruth.
"We will ride in the bloomers we wear at camp," said the Captain.
"I never knew there were enough saddles in Freedom for all of us,"laughed Julie.
"That is what I went to find out," said Mr. Gilroy. "The man, Mark, whohas charge of the stable, told me he could hire some from the farmersround about. He is going to bring up the horses in the morning and takethem back in the evening."
"What will he do meantime, to kill time here?" asked Joan.
"He said he would make some bird-boxes for you, and nail them up invarious trees, so you can entice the birds to nest here."
But the scouts had not yet studied bird-life, so they were not awarethat the nesting period was past. They delighted in the news that theywere to have bird-houses, however.
When Mr. Gilroy took up his flashlight to go down to his "Royal Suite,"as the scouts called the walnut bedstead, Joan said: "Shall we escortyou down the trail?"
"Oh, no! I can find the bed, all right. It is such a huge affair that Iwould have to be blind not to see it in the dark."
The scouts were soon in bed after this, and honestly tried to go tosleep, but the new adventure planned for the morrow kept them awake.After telling each other what they would wear and how well they couldride horses, one after the other quieted down, and, last of all, Mrs.Vernon was able to sleep.
It was past eight when Mark was seen coming up the trail leading a lineof horses, saddled and ready to ride. Stopping at the Royal Suite, hewaited for Mr. Gilroy to get upon the largest horse. Then they continuedto the camp.
The girls had breakfast out of the way, and were anxiously waiting forthe horses, so Mark had quite an audience as he rode up on the plateau.
The scouts seldom had opportunity to ride a horse when at home, and nowthey commented on the different animals. Julie instantly said: "I choosethe brown one--he is so shiny."
"Seems to me they look awfully tall," whispered Betty.
"They be the usual size, miss," said Mark, who overheard.
"Maybe they won't seem so high when we get up," added Joan.
Mrs. Vernon laughed. "That is always the first thought of an amateurrider--how high up the saddle seems!"
Mr. Gilroy assisted the Captain to mount, then he helped the girls up.Mark had an extra horse, and now he said: "I brung my own hoss ez Ifiggered I'd best lead the way as fur as Crest Trail. After that it'seasy going and you can't miss Dunstan's Cabin."
"All right, Mark--lead on," said Mr. Gilroy.
"As the hosses is all safe fer ridin', the scouts needen' fear 'em. Theyain't colts ner air they skittish," said Mark.
Mr. Gilroy smiled, for he surmised as much. The mounts, in fact, seemedaged enough to be pensioned for the rest of their lives.
As Mark led the way up the trail, he described Granny Dunstan and herabode. "She's most a hunerd years old, an' she's allus lived in thatcabin. This boy is her great-gran'son, but his folks lives in a townsome forty mile away. He come to stop wid' Granny when she got so old,an' he likes the woods life."
"But he enlisted, you say, to fight the Germans," said Mrs. Vernon,eagerly.
"Yeh! He keeps up to th' times, an' hes books and papers up thar. Whenthe _Lusertani_ was sunk he got reel mad, an' come down to Freedom an'wanted to git a crowd of young uns up to go and shoot the Huns. But theydiden' want to go so fur from hum. Then he got his dander up an' says:'I'll jine myself, then. You'll hear of me some day!' And off he goes.Some folks said he ough
ter have stayed wid his Granny, so a few of usdruv up to ask her about it. Golly! she mos' made us deef with hershoutin' at our bein' slackers, cuz she said her boy was the onny trueYank in Freedom!
"She made us feel mighty small when she shouts out: 'Yuh call yer townFreedom! Bah--it ain't nothin' but a handful of cowards. It oughter becalled "Slack town."' We got away pritty soon affer that, an' folksain't so anxious to visit Granny as onct they was."
This explanation gave the scout party a good idea of the old woman theywere about to visit, and Mrs. Vernon said:
"Do you think we should have told her we wanted to call?"
"Oh, no! she don't mind strangers. She goes about her chores jes th'same ez ef no one was there," said Mark.
The seven horses padded softly up the grassy trail, and when theyreached the cross-trail near the top of the mountain Mark reined in hismount.
"Now, yeh foller that trail to the crest an' then turn t' th' left.Foller the road clear on till yeh come to the Cabin."
Mark waited and watched until the last horse had disappeared on top ofthe mountain, then he rode back to camp to wait. The scouts continued onthe trail, passing noisy streams that ran madly over rocks or fell overcliffs. The birds and flowers were many-hued and beautiful, so thatevery step of the way was enjoyable. Mr. Gilroy rode in front, and theCaptain at the rear of the line.
After a ride of about three miles along the Crest, Mr. Gilroy stoppedhis horse and looked at a tiny cabin half-hidden under vines and gianttrees. It sat back from the trail about twenty feet, and might have beenpassed by unless one was looking for it.
"Isn't that lovely?" Joan said.
"Yes, in summer; but think how dreadful it would be in winter," addedJulie.
"She doesn't live here all winter, does she?" asked Ruth.
"Yes; Mark says she won't leave the place, although hergranddaughter--the aviator's mother, you know--begged her to move down toher home," explained Mrs. Vernon.
"The roof's as green as the grass," now said Betty.
"It's moss on the old shingles," said Mrs. Vernon.
"Mark told me that folks at Freedom say the old lady has a heap of moneyhidden away in this old cabin, and no one knows where except hergreat-grandson, who will be the heir," said Mr. Gilroy.
"But that is all conjecture, Mr. Gilroy, as no one has ever heard a wordabout it from Granny or her boy," added Mrs. Vernon.
"I think it is idle gossip, for how could the old dame make the gold uphere? It would take all she could earn with her herbs to pay for herliving," admitted Mr. Gilroy.
"Does she sell herbs?" asked the scouts, eagerly.
"Mark said she is the greatest Nature physician ever found around here.If the medical men can't cure a sickness, they send for Granny Dunstan,and she gives the patients a drink of simples and they recover quickly.
"She used to sell these remedies all over the countryside, but of lateyears she doesn't come down to the towns like she used to. Her boy sellshis pelts instead, so that is why the people said she had gold enough."
"I'm glad you told us this, Mr. Gilroy," said Mrs. Vernon, "as I shouldlike the scouts to learn from the aged woman how she gathers andprepares the tea and balms."
The riders dismounted and tied their horses to trees, then followed Mr.Gilroy across the grass to the cabin. The door stood open but not asound was heard from within.
"Just look at this construction!" cried Julie. "She's used stones, logsand everything in the walls."
"And the growing trees were used for corner-posts of the house," addedMrs. Vernon, examining the odd structure.
Mr. Gilroy rapped politely on the door, but no one replied. Again herapped louder, and a shrill bark sounded from a distance back in thewoods.
"I guess she's out in her garden," said Mr. Gilroy.
"I heard a funny grunt from the little shed at the back of this room,"whispered Julie.
"Let's go around the corner of the cabin and see if she is back there,"suggested Mrs. Vernon.
So they followed Mr. Gilroy, and all had to laugh when they found thegrunt came from a sow with a litter of little pigs. She was queen of theshed that leaned against the cabin, so the scouts watched her withinterest for a time, then turned to follow after Mr. Gilroy and theCaptain.
But the sow grunted excitedly when the little ones ran after thevisitors. They thought there would be something to eat, and having neverseen strangers before they knew no fear of them. The angry grunting ofthe old mother hog made the dog bark again from the woodland, and soonafter a bent-over form could be seen coming from the woods.
A hound bounded before her, barking shrilly at the trespassers, untilthe old woman shouted: "Be quiet, Bill!"
Instantly the dog dropped behind his mistress, and Mr. Gilroy lifted hishat as he greeted the aged dame.
Mrs. Vernon went forward also, and said: "We came to see you, Mrs.Dunstan; I heard your boy was an aviator in France, and I felt aninterest in meeting and talking with you and him. My boy was one, too,but he was shot down."
This was an opportune introduction, as nothing melted the old lady'sscorn and indifference to visitors like the interest one took inaviation.
"Now, this be a real treat! Them folks at Freedom won't dare to come andsee me since we went to war!" declared the centenarian in a strongvoice.
Granny Dunstan squinted keenly at the visitors to make sure they weretruthful, and, finding they seemed earnest, she led the way to thecabin.
"I rickon we better sit outside; the cabin's too small to hold more'nthree of us," announced Granny, as she turned to address her visitors.
Her criss-crossed wrinkled face seemed to roll up with that grin,showing shrivelled toothless gums. Yet the aged face was attractive,with a subtle kind of wholesomeness seldom seen in old people. Mrs.Vernon said, later, that it must be the result of living alone withNature and her children for so many years.
"You said you had a boy what was aviator in France?" questioned Granny,the moment the scouts had seated themselves.
"Yes, and when I heard your boy had been over, I was anxious to meet youboth," said Mrs. Vernon.
"Wall, my boy's got a cross from France, an' now he's ben sent for to goto Washin'ton and meet some big folks what's here visitin' from France.I tell you, John's a right smart soljer!"
The proud old dame wagged her head briskly as she gazed from one to theother of her hearers. Then she suddenly changed the conversation.
"Yeh hed a long, long ride from Freedom, didn't yeh?"
Mrs. Vernon explained that they were camping and had only traveled fromthe plateau that morning.
"Oh, ye'es must be the gals John tole me about one day--he said thar warsome tramps loose on the hill and he wisht yuh knew it so yuh could keepa dog to warn 'em off. In fack, he wuz agoin' to git yuh one, but he hadto leave so quick-like."
Granny was very entertaining, and before the scouts left, she had shownthem many of her preparations, witch-hazel being one of her remedies.She treated them to drinks of birch-beer, and gave them vials ofwinter-green flavoring, and peppermint oil, to be used in candy-making.
"I'd like to bring my girls up again, Granny, to have them learn more ofyour art of chemistry. The proof that you have found the secret ofliving long and well is evident in your strength and power to enjoy lifeas you do," said Mrs. Vernon, as they said good-by.
"An' I'll tell John about you havin' a boy over thar, an' he'll be sureto come and see yuh," said the old lady.
"I'll be so happy to become acquainted with him. Who knows, but he mayhave known my son and can tell me something of his life there. We havenever been able to learn much," said Mrs. Vernon, pathetically.
Granny Dunstan placed a bony hand gently on her visitor's arm and lookedvolumes with her bright little eyes. Then and there, age, position, andall earthly claims disappeared, and the scouts were given a wonderfulsight in beholding a perfect spiritual communion between two entirelydifferent humans.
On the ride back to camp, Mr. Gilroy said: "Well, I wouldn't
have missedthat visit for anything."
"If 'imitation is the sincerest flattery' then we are flattering GrannyDunstan, for we are going there again to learn the things she knows,"said Mrs. Vernon.
The scouts found that Mark had erected several bird-houses, and as theystood watching him line up his horses again, to lead them back toFreedom, they plied him with questions about Granny Dunstan.
"Mark, does she keep all those pigs for meat in winter?" asked Ruth.
"No, she fatten's 'em en sells 'em fer groceries en' other needs. Herpork fetches more'n enny other round th' country."
"How do you account for that, Mark?" asked Mrs. Vernon.
"Cuz it is such sweet and clean meat. Them pigs fatten up on acorns andnuts. And that makes the finest tastin' flesh, yuh know."
After Mark left camp, the girls still talked of the old lady and herwonderful knowledge of woodcraft. Mr. Gilroy and Mrs. Vernon stood at ashort distance, conversing in low tones. Finally they came over andjoined the scouts.
Mr. Gilroy said: "I want to thank you scouts for all you have done forme, not only in saving my life, but in entertaining me later."
Julie looked anxiously up at him and said, "You sound just as if youwere going to leave."
Mrs. Vernon and he laughed: "To tell the truth, I am."
"There--I knew it! It's that old walnut bed!" cried Ruth.
"Oh, no," laughed Mr. Gilroy. "It is because I must keep importantappointments at home. You see, I merely got off at Junction when I heardof the Cave, and here I've been ever since."
"You had as good a time here, as elsewhere, haven't you?" demandedJulie.
"Better than I've had in years, but now I must go on. But I want to makea proposition to which your Captain agrees.
"Next summer, as soon as school closes, I want you girls to visit myplace in the Adirondacks. The reward of money you will receive will payall expenses for fares and outfits, and I will try to be as fine a hostas you were hostesses. Will you?"
"You said you were from New York?" argued Joan.
"So I am--when I am at home. But I spend most of the year in myAdirondack camp. You see, I am an ardent Boy Scout admirer, and everysummer I have a crowd of boys camp in the mountains with me. As I haveseveral thousand acres there, we won't interfere with you girls. Infact, I have just been telling your Captain that I am going to write toHeadquarters and offer my place to the Girl Scouts for any number ofcamps they may see fit to start. I can make it very comfortable forthem, as my workmen have cut good roads through the woods and manytrails are worn over the surrounding mountains. If you'll agree toestablish a flourishing Troop by next spring, I will agree to give youthe time of your life."
When Mr. Gilroy finished, the scouts were too delighted to speak for atime. Then Julie sprang forward, and threw her arms about his waist. Shehugged him so unexpectedly, but withal so tightly, that he gasped forbreath. Every one laughed, as it expressed their sentiments exactly.