"Isn't it lovely the way the path trails and yet continues everupward?" said Mary Lee as the two made their way slowly ahead.
"It seems so far from the city and war and Liberty Bonds," repliedRuth dreamily.
"But it's our country and it simply adds to our reason for being proudof it," the other girl answered. "But you are right, it is far awayfrom things."
At first the voices ahead were clearly distinct but now they were nolonger heard. The road, too, in one or two places trailed into thewoods and Mary Lee and Ruth found that it was necessary to keep asharp lookout not to wander off on one of these side trails.
"Here's how we can tell," the former suddenly called to Ruth. "Seethese trees. Someone must have marked them so as to show how to go."
"It's what they call a blazed trail, I guess," Ruth replied. "I'veoften heard my brother tell how he and his guide had found itnecessary to blaze trails as they go."
"I wonder where Letty and Edith are," Mary Lee suddenly remarked. "Wehaven't heard their voices for a long time."
The two girls called for their friends. But there was no answer.
"Let's hurry," said Ruth beginning to be alarmed.
They hurried out but found no sign of their friends nor any answer totheir calls.
"I wonder where they can be," said Mary Lee. "Do you suppose theywandered off on one of these trails? I suppose that's what they havedone," she added, answering her own question.
"Let's turn back, Mary Lee," Ruth advised.
They did this at once. Mary Lee felt certain that the two girls couldnot have gone much further ahead.
They came across one or two of the side trails but there was no signof footprints. At one of these narrow paths they did see the mark offeet but after cutting into the woods for several hundred yards, theydecided it was the point where they had found themselves branching offon their way up.
They did not cease their calls but were unable to get a response.
By this time it was midday and they were far from the camp. They hadlost considerable time in zagzaging uncertainly from one point toanother in their anxiety to locate their friends.
"I wonder, Ruth," Mary Lee questioned her friend, "whether you couldfind your way back and get help. It's only about two miles from here."
"What will you do in the meantime?" Ruth replied. "I hate to leave youalone."
"I shall try to locate them. But I shall be always coming back tothis point, so that you will know where to find me. See, I shall putthis branch in the middle of the trail so that you will know."
Ruth hurried off. Mary Lee tied her handkerchief on a small branch ofanother tree so that there would be no mistake. She realized that Ruthwould not be able to bring help in less than an hour and so decidedshe was going to study the number of trails within a half mile andfollow the one that seemed the most likely.
A little further up the mountain she found a path that seemed almostas wide as the main trail and decided to follow it. She had gone but alittle way when she noticed that it cut directly to her right andbegan to go down hill.
Now she hurried and began to call again. She received no answer butdecided to continue on her way.
The woods became thicker. The thorns and trailing branches scratchedher arms and her face but she was unmindful of this. She made sure,however, of her way back. She had no wish to join the lost.
She had cut into the woods about a mile by now and had ceased hercalls. The woods were thick about her and almost inaccessible.
"I must turn back," she thought dejectedly. "They're not this way."Her dress was torn, her hair too, was not in its usual neat order.
"Letty, oh Letty," she called with a last forlorn hope.
There was silence for a few seconds. Then from a considerabledistance, she heard an answering voice.
A little uncertain as to the location and inclined to believe that thehail might come from Dr. Anderson and the rescue party, she calledagain.
The answer was clearer and seemed to come from about a quarter of amile ahead of her.
She hurried forward. Soon she heard someone tearing through the brushand finally Letty and Edith appeared.
As soon as the two girls saw Mary Lee they sat down and began to cry.
"Aren't we the sillies?" said Edith tearfully. "We didn't think ofcrying until you found us."
"We're certainly glad you did find us," Letty added.
The two girls presented a sorry picture. Their faces and arms werescratched even more than Mary Lee's. Their dresses, too, were torn andone of Letty's stockings had a big hole in it.
The three hurried back to the point Mary Lee had marked. As well asthe two girls could, they explained how they had wandered off on aside trail without being aware of it. Then they had suddenly realizedthey were in the thick of the woods. They had halloaed, but could nothear any answer.
Dr. Anderson and Aunt Madge were already waiting for them. The girlscould hear them calling their names and Mary Lee shouted in responsethat she found the two.
When the party reached the camp, there were three girls who could notdecide whether they were too hungry to be tired or too tired to behungry.
After luncheon had been finished and the girls' scratches dressed,Dr. Anderson joined his wife.
"Better not tell those children what a narrow escape they had. It isbest for them not to know that there have been people lost in thesewoods who have starved to death."
"I think, too, we had better not let them go off by themselves again,"replied Mrs. Anderson. "They're not all Mary Lees, you know."
So the Andersons made light of the fact that Letty and Edith hadstrayed off.
By the next day, the girls had almost forgotten the incident in theexcitement of the pleasures and enjoyment of the vacation.
CHAPTER XXVI
RETURNING HOME
The stay at Mount Hope came to a close much too swiftly for the girls,who had never enjoyed any outing so much. Bob had come on Saturday forthe two days and after the first half hour of stiffness and shynessover being in the company of so many girls he found himself thoroughlyat home.
The boy had grown more manly. Mary Lee soon found that he preferredthe company of boys now. She was glad of that, even though she knewthat it took something from their own close friendship. She wanted Bobto be a boy's boy and he was certainly proving himself that.
He was greatly interested in the success of the girls' "Liberty" sale.Mary Lee told him of the plans for the Red Cross week which was tobegin on June 18th. The boy knew of that for his mother had written tohim about it and he told Mary Lee of the plans his school had made tohelp during the same week.
"I'm one of the committee, too," he told her with great pride.
It was a still bright day when the party started for the station inthe automobiles after waving a farewell to the caretakers. The trainwas due at the station at five o'clock. Aunt Madge had no wish to rushthings and so had decided on an early start.
Bob left them at Plattsburg. He was to cross Champlain to Burlingtonand from there take a train for the school.
It was the idea of the girls that they would stay awake until late inthe evening. But ten o'clock found most of them in their berths. Atseven o'clock the following morning, the train arrived at the GrandCentral. Letty, Edith and Mary Lee still showed traces of thescratches they had received in the woods. But they were not in theleast disturbed by this for they carried the pleasantest recollectionsof a delightful party. If the truth were told, the incident of beinglost, now that it was a thing of the past, carried a certain zest.
Letty had been quite vexed at herself for having cried when Mary Leefound them. She would have liked to pretend that she had not been atall frightened.
Edith, however, made an outright admission of how frightened she hadbeen.
"And Letty," she rebuked the latter, "you know how scared you were.You needn't try to pretend you weren't."
"Well, _I was_, and so was Ruth," Mary Lee admitted.
"I suppose I mus
t admit that I was, too," Letty ruefully added."Though I would have liked to pretend that I was brave."
"Letty," said Aunt Madge very gravely as she put her arm about her andgave her a hug, "it's the brave people who are scared and frightened.It's people who are able to overcome their fear who are truly brave."
The girls gathered together at the station and surrounded theAndersons. Aunt Madge, happy, somewhat embarrassed, was the center ofthe group and received the evidence of the good time the girls had hadwith flushed face and genuine pleasure. People passing by stopped towatch the pretty party.
"Now for school," said Edith, as the girls began to separate to getready for the same. "Another month and our real vacation time begins."
"Yes," replied Mary Lee, "but we mustn't, in the meantime, forget thethings we must plan and do for the Red Cross before that vacation timecomes. Remember our promise, don't you, for the week of June 18th?"
"We certainly do," replied the other girls enthusiastically.
CHAPTER XXVII
ANOTHER ADVENTURE
"Oh, what a long week this is!" cried Letty, a few days later as shewalked home from school with Mary Lee and Edith.
"Yes, school is certainly dragging along at a slow pace these last fewweeks," added Edith.
"I suppose it's because our thoughts are more on our coming vacationthan on our studies," said Mary Lee. "We ought to feel bright andperfectly willing to work hard after our delightful outing, butsomehow I must confess I don't."
"Neither do I. The taste of fun we had was so good we want more. Iwish some one would invite us to another week-end party or something,"said Letty.
"Oh, wouldn't that be great! Mother has some friends who are at theirlovely country home over on Long Island. If they would only invite usover," said Edith.
They had just reached Letty's home when they spied the postman comingout.
"Did you leave a letter for me?" cried Letty.
"Yes, indeed," replied the postman, "a nice big fat one, too."
"Oh, come on in, girls, till I see if there's anything worth while init," cried Letty bounding up the front steps.
The girls were glad to stop in for awhile, for the house was cool anddelightful, while the heat outside was intense for a June day.
Letty tore the letter open hurriedly, and glanced first of all at thesignature.
"Oh, girls, it's from Cousin Edna! What do you suppose she wants?"
"Why not read it and see?" asked Edith, who was quite consumed withcuriosity.
Letty did. A smile lighted up her face as she turned over the firstpage. By the time she finished the letter she was ready to dance, shewas so excited.
"Calm yourself, child, calm yourself, till we know what it's allabout," cried Mary Lee.
"Talk about luck!" exclaimed Letty. "Just think, Cousin Edna's CampFire Group is off on a camping expedition. She thinks it would be a'lark' if some of our girls could come over and visit them for a dayor so at their camp."
"_Can_ we?" cried Edith, "well, I should say we could. Tomorrow isFriday, so why not go this week? I'm sure my mother will consent tolet me go. Whom else shall we ask beside us three?"
"Nobody," said Letty. "We can have a better time if we go byourselves. Cousin Edna says they are living in tents about five milesout from the railroad station. Of course we shall have to 'hike' allthe way over from the station, but won't it be fun? We can wear ourkhaki suits and carry our blankets strapped around us. The camp is onthe beach and we can take our swimming suits along."
"And we can sleep on the beach," cried Mary Lee, "and watch the stars.I've always wanted to do that."
"Come on home," cried Edith to Mary Lee, "and see what mother has tosay. I'm sure she will think it a lovely plan. Letty, you find yourmother and get her consent."
"When shall we start?" cried Letty.
"Tomorrow afternoon, right after school," said Mary Lee. "We can go bytrain to Port Washington and 'hike' over to the camp."
"Yes," said Letty, "I'll have father look up the time-table and seehow late a train we can get, so that we can do our walking as the sunis setting. The woods will be so pretty then."
"But suppose it gets dark before we reach camp," said Edith.
"All the more fun. We can take along a flash-light. Father has onethat gives out a big light. He bought it when he went fishing not longago. I'll ask him to lend it to us," said Letty, "and mother has someregular U. S. Army blankets that she takes when we go to the mountainsevery summer. She'll let us each take one. They will be just the thingif we want to sleep on the beach."
CHAPTER XXVIII
"HELP! HELP!"
When the three girls started on their expedition the next day, theywere the center of attention at the depot. Each wore a khaki suit,consisting of a middy blouse and bloomers, heavy leggings and softfelt hat. Their blankets were thrown over their shoulders and strappedat the side. Inside the rolled blanket each had a sweater, a bathingsuit and a cap. One girl carried a camera, one a box of lunch and theother a flash light.
"Aren't we loaded though?" cried Letty as they seated themselves inthe train.
"I should say so. I feel like Tartarin when he started to climb theAlps," said Edith.
"I never heard of Tartarin," said Mary Lee. "Who was he?"
"Didn't you ever read 'Tartarin of Tarascon,' by Alphonse Daudet?"asked Letty.
"No, but I've heard of Daudet. He was a celebrated Frenchman, wasn'the?"
"Yes, and Tartarin was the dearest old fellow. He started out to climbthe Alps--loaded himself with rope, woolen clothing, Alpine stick,etc. We had to read the book last year in our French class," saidLetty.
"Wasn't it the hardest French you ever read?" asked Edith. "It seemedto me I had to use my dictionary for every other word. But dear me,why talk about school and studies when we're off on a 'lark'?"
"That's what I say," said Mary Lee. "Let's make up a song that we cansing as we trudge along the road."
"How about using the tune of 'The Bear Went Over the Mountain'?" askedEdith.
"Just the thing," cried Letty. "How's this?--
"We took our beds on our ba-acks--"
"Oh, no," said Mary Lee. "It's better to say 'we took our beds on ourshoulders.'"
The girls were so busy working on their song that they were surprisedwhen the conductor called "Port Washington."
How the townspeople did stare as the three girls set out down theroad! Several soldiers, standing on a corner smiled as they whistledthe song:
"Oh here she comes, there she goes All dressed up in her Sunday clothes."
"Don't you feel like a freak?" asked Edith, rather sorry now she hadworn her bloomer suit.
"Indeed I don't," answered Letty. "These khaki bloomer suits are thelatest fad for 'hikers.' I had a letter from my aunt who is at afashionable summer resort in Michigan. She said that there was a partyof young people spending the week end at the same hotel and that allthe young women of the party wore bloomer suits and looked just toocute for anything. They are university students and had walked all theway from Chicago. They were making a study of the sand dunes, lakecurrents and change of river beds. A professor was with them."
"How delightful," said Mary Lee. "I'd love to join a party like that,only I'd rather study Botany."
By this time the road led into a deep wood where the setting sunflashed its red light through the verdant foliage.
"Isn't this ideal?" exclaimed Edith. "Look at those noble lookingtrees!"
"What kind are they?" asked Letty. "I never could tell one tree fromanother."
"Those are red oak and those over there are white," explained MaryLee.
"They look just alike to me," said Letty. "How can you tell which iswhich?"
"The red oak has pointed leaves and its acorns ripen every year. Butthe white oak's leaves are rounded and it takes two years for itsacorns to ripen," explained Mary Lee.
"Oh, look here," cried Edith, bending over a bed of dry leaves."Here's an Indian pipe growing. I have
n't seen one for years."
"Why, it's pure white," said Letty. "Not a bit of green on it. Eventhe root and the stem are white. It is like a regular miniature whiteclay pipe, isn't it?"
"One could almost blow soap bubbles through it," added Edith. "Butcome, girls, we must hurry on. It will be dark before we know it."
"Who is afraid?" said Mary Lee, "we have a flash light."
"How would you like to have a cup of sassafras tea?" asked Edith,examining a small shrub.
"Where would you get the sassafras?" asked Letty.
"Come over here and help me pull up this baby tree and I'll show you,"said Edith.
All three girls pulled and up came the little tree, roots and all.Then Edith took her jack knife which hung on a chain from her belt andpeeled off bits of the bark down around the roots, and gave each ofthe girls a taste.
"It's sassafras all right," said Edith, "but it doesn't look like thekind the women sell on the street corners in town. That's more reddishlooking. Why is that, I wonder?"
"Don't ask me," said Edith. "I think I'm smart enough in knowing it'ssassafras. Why worry over its color?"
"Oh, here's a snail in its shell," said Mary Lee, picking up a round,brownish shell from the sandy path. "Come out here, Mr. Snail and showyourself," she said, holding the end of a long stick at the opening ofthe shell.
After a few minutes, there was a movement within, and out came a head.
"Look at its horns," said Letty. "Aren't they long?"