CHAPTER VIII--MISS MASON'S PATROL ARRIVES
The drive from Green Hill Farm to Mr. Ames's brother's farm wasenlivened for Mrs. James and Natalie by the driver's gossip about theneighboring farmers whose places they passed. One farmer made aspeciality of raising poultry, another tried to raise flowers, but hisgreenhouses were not arranged well, and his plants generally froze incold weather. Still another farmer planned to raise nothing butmarket-truck, but he kept postponing the attempt and thus never amountedto anything.
All these various plans gave Natalie food for thought, and she had manyschemes outlined in her head by the time Mr. Ames drove in at hisbrother's farm-gate.
The house and front gardens were as neat as wax, and one could see fromthe road that the farm itself was well cared for. Mr. Ames spoke thetruth when he bragged of it as being a model farm.
Mrs. Ames came to the side door at the sound of wheels crunching thegravel, and smiled a welcome at her brother-in-law.
"I brung the leddies I tol' you about," explained Mr. Ames, as he jumpedout and turned to help Mrs. James and Natalie.
After introductions were over, Mrs. Ames remarked: "I'll go call myhusband. He's at the barns tryin' to coax a few little pigs from themother."
"Oh, oh! Are they tiny little pigs!" cried Natalie excitedly.
"Yes,--not much bigger'n a kitten."
"Oh dear! Can't I see them?" asked she anxiously.
Everyone laughed. "Of course you can," returned Mrs. Ames.
"We will all go and see them," added Mrs. James. "I like to see littlecreatures, too."
So they all walked down the box-edged path-way to the neat out-buildingswhere Mr. Ames was struggling with two squirming little pink pigs thatwere determined to run away.
Natalie stood and watched while the battle for supremacy continued, andfinally she offered to help hold them. But this was not necessary, asthe farmer managed to get them in the pen especially built for thelarger pigs of the litter.
"They've got to be weaned and give the lean ones a chance to growbetter," explained the farmer, mopping his brow after the struggle hadended.
Natalie was so interested in the barnyard cattle, that the host escortedher about and showed her many amusing and instructive things. Mrs. Jamesenjoyed this visit, also. The modern chicken-houses and duck-yards wereadmired; the pig-pens, with their clean runs and concrete pools for thepigs to bathe in, were inspected by an astonished Natalie who believedpigs to be filthy animals; and all the other devices for the cleanlinessand comfort of the stock were commended; and then they all went back tothe house.
Mrs. Ames had hurriedly prepared refreshments, although it was not morethan ten o'clock. Ice-cold butter-milk, home-made sponge cake, andfruit, was a tempting sight. Natalie was thirsty after the visit to thebarns, and the cold drink proved most refreshing.
While Mrs. Ames played hostess and showed her visitors her flowergardens, the two farmers went to the seed-house and sorted the potatoseed Natalie wanted for her own garden. Then several tiny plants wereadded to this bag,--slips that had been weeded out that morning, andthrown out as superfluous in the Ames's gardens. These could betransplanted at once by Natalie, and would go on growing, thus givingtime for the seeds to sprout.
Natalie enjoyed the flowers and the stock-yard, but she was interestedin vegetables, and now she was anxious to get home and plant the potatoseed and other slips that had been donated. Hence, the three visitorswere soon on their way back to Green Hill.
"Mr. Ames," began Natalie, as they drove away, "your brother said Icould save time in growing the corn if I would soak the kernels inlukewarm water for several hours. He says the soil is quite warm enoughnow for me to do this, so the swollen corn will not get a chill when itis dropped in the hill."
"Yeh, I know that, too. I was goin' to suggest it," returned Mr. Ames.
"He said the lukewarm water would start the corn swelling better, and bythe time Natalie wanted to plant it the water would be cold and thekernel would be the same temperature. The soil would be about the sameheat, so we would not be running any risk of failure in hastening theseed," added Mrs. James.
"Yeh--ye kin do that," agreed the farmer.
"Another thing your brother said--that I thought good, is this: when weplant slips, such as beets, cauliflower, and other vegetables in agarden bed, to keep the seeds of such kinds apart from the plant beds;then when the seeds sprout they won't confuse us with the older plants,"said Natalie.
"Mr. Ames," now said Mrs. James, "your brother says he always plants hiscorn in a rich sandy soil with a mixture of gravel in it, to act as adrain. The more sunshine it gets, the sweeter it tastes, he said."
Mr. Ames glanced at the speaker with a pitying look. "Diden yuh knowthat afore he tole you?" was all he said.
Natalie nudged Mrs. James and giggled. But the lady was not silenced bythe farmer's remark. She was enthusiastic about all she had learned andhad to debate it with someone.
"He said that he seldom used a compost made of cow-manure, unless it wasseasoned with other lighter fertilizer, as it was so heavy it kept allair from permeating to the roots. _But_ he added that it formed asplendid foundation for other mixtures to be added to it."
"Well, diden I say that same thing to yuh?" demanded Mr. Ames.
"Yes, but it is more satisfactory to hear your advice seconded. Now we_know_ you were right in your suggestions," said Mrs. James guilelessly.
"Right here, I wanta tell yuh-all that I brung my brother up in hisfarmin' knowledge. And what he knows he learned from me when I wasvotin' an' he was onny in knickers!" was Farmer Ames's scornful reply.
The rest of that day was spent in planting potato seed, Rachel helping,so that the cut sections need not be dried out. At sundown Mr. Ames wentfor his horse and buckboard, saying,
"Wall, to-morrer yuh won't need me, Mis' James. Everything is goin' onas fine as kin be, an' you'se know all about th' seeds."
"Oh dear, Mr. Ames!" cried Natalie, in distress, "we will feel as if weare at sea without a rudder."
The remark pleased the farmer, for he was proud of his experience andloved to have others admit it. So he said: "Well, ef I git time I mightrun in at noon when I drives to the store fer mail and house-goods."
"Please do! We will need you by that time, I am sure," replied Natalie.
But the seeds and corn and other vegetable products were planted withoutfurther mistakes or delay. Each day saw the work advance and by the timethe city school closed the garden was well on its way to producingedibles for that season.
The tiny lettuce slips that Mr. Ames's brother had given Natalie weregrowing up fresh and green; the radishes showed three to four sturdylittle leaves, evidence that tiny red balls were forming under theground. The cabbages and cauliflowers began to present funny littlebutton-like heads above the soil; and the seeds were showing slenderlittle spears of green where the soft earth was cleft by theirprotruding points. The tomato vines and other plants started from slipsthat had been weeded out from the Ames's farms were doing well; so thatNatalie felt a righteous pride in her garden.
The garden was well on its way to producing edibles forthat season.]
A letter from Miss Mason came the last Friday of school:
Dear Natalie:
Almost before you will have time to digest the contents of this letter we will have descended upon Green Hill Farm. The Girl Scouts in my Patrol packed and shipped the tents and other camping outfit, by express, the first of the week. I wrote the man at the Corner Store to hold them until we called there for them. If Mrs. James, and Rachel and you, have nothing better to do on Sunday, we will be pleased to have you come to our camp and dine with us. We hope to have everything in order and be ready for guests by Sunday noon, as we will arrive at Greenville about noon on Saturday. Until then, I will wish you all rest and peace, as you will need to draw heavily upon the reserve fund of it after we arrive. My Girl Scouts are an active, energetic patrol, and few of them ever stop to sit down or sleep w
hile in camp.
Lovingly your teacher, Anna Mason.
"Jimmy, Miss Mason says her girls will be here Saturday--that'sto-morrow. But I haven't heard a word from the other girls about whenthey will arrive! If only they could come up and be with us all onSunday. Don't you suppose we could telephone Janet and let her arrangeit?" asked Natalie anxiously, after reading the letter from Miss Mason.
"Perhaps the girls are planning to pack up and get away from the cityfor all summer when they do come here. In that case, I don't see howthey could manage to get away on Saturday. But we can telephone and findout," returned Mrs. James.
So Janet was called over the 'phone, and Natalie heard to her greatdelight that Janet was coming Saturday evening even though other girlsin the group would not leave the city until the middle of the followingweek.
That afternoon at sundown Natalie inspected her garden critically,trying to judge it from another's point of view. When she returned tothe house she sat down on the piazza beside Mrs. James and sighed.
"I suppose everyone will laugh at my garden. The seeds aren't bigyet,--only the lettuce and other things that I transplanted from theAmes's farms. Do you think they really will grow up, Jimmy?"
"Of course they will. Does the sun shine or do we succeed in growing_anything_ from the ground?" laughed Mrs. James.
"But this is different. I am not an experienced farmer and maybe thevegetables won't grow for me."
"The poor little seeds never stop to wonder whether you are a farmer ornot. They have no partiality. It is their business to grow and bringforth results, so they get busy and attend to their business the momentthey are planted. But all things take time to develop,--so with seeds.They do not give you a full-grown head of lettuce or cauliflower in anight."
This encouraged Natalie so much that she went to sleep with theassurance that her garden would thrive just as well as any farmer's inthe county.
At noon on Saturday Natalie heard the laughter and confused talking ofmany girls. She ran to the side porch and saw Tompkins' largespring-wagon approaching the house. Seated in the back of the wagon wasa bevy of happy girls, and Miss Mason sat beside the driver.
"Here comes the Patrol, Jimmy!" shouted Natalie, eagerly beckoning toMrs. James, who was in the living-room.
The wagon drove in the side gate and Si Tompkins halted his horses whileMiss Mason called to Natalie:
"Want to jump in and go with us down to the woodland?"
"Run along, Natalie, and I will come down later," said Mrs. James,smiling a welcome at the merry party in the wagon.
In a few moments Natalie was up beside the teacher, and the wagon movedon down the hill to the river land.
Introductions were not given until the girls had jumped out of the wagonand stood about Miss Mason waiting for orders. Then Natalie found theGirl Scout Patrol consisted of nine happy, bright, intelligent girls,who felt very grateful to her for the privilege extended them to camp inher woodland that summer.
The camping outfit had been packed in the front end of the wagon, andwhen it was all removed, the girls started immediately to pitch theirtents and do other necessary work for an extended camping-time.
Natalie watched with interest and saw that these girls knew exactly whatto do. Miss Mason selected a site where a cold water spring bubbled upunder a huge rock and formed a small pool. The overflow ran down thewoodland bank into the stream. Quite close to this spring the Patrolwould camp, using the water for all needs, and being far enough awayfrom it to keep camp debris from being blown, or thrown, into the pool.
"Girls," called Miss Mason to her Scouts, "we will use this nice levelspot up on the slight elevation for the tents. Here we have naturaldrainage away from our spring, and there is no possibility of the riverseeping up into the ground under the tents. Even the hill back of uswill not drain down upon our site, as there is that shallow valleybetween our knoll and the further hill."
So the tents were raised where the Patrol Leader designated, and herethey found all the advantages so desired by a group of campers: plentyof sunshine part of the day, breezes whenever the wind blew across thehills, privacy because of the surrounding woods, plenty of dry wood forcamp-fires, water from the spring, and the stream farther down to batheand swim in.
Natalie watched the girls trench about each tent, and she also saw thateach tent was placed about twenty-five feet from the next one. Therewere four tents in all,--two large ones for the girls and a smaller onefor Miss Mason, while a tiny one was for a pantry.
While five girls were engaged in completing the tent arrangements, MissMason and the other girls in the Patrol sought a suitable spot for thelatrine. Here they began to dig a trench and build a shelter. Nataliewent with them and learned that a latrine must be away from thewater-supply and in the opposite direction from which the prevailingwinds blew toward camp. Miss Mason was most particular about this work.
"That trench is not deep enough, Amy," said she to one Scout who wasleaving the work. "Every trench must be at least two feet deep, onewide, and four feet long. Your pit is only a foot deep, and you have notexcavated the dirt from either end. Dig it out clean and pile italongside so it can be thrown in again to cover over any waste. Thislatrine is for summer use--not for a week-end camp, you know."
When the tents were up and ready for use, Miss Mason called the GirlScouts together.
"Now, girls, let us decide at once what shall be the tasks assigned toeach Scout for the coming week. We will have a similar gathering everySaturday afternoon while at camp, and exchange duties so that everyScout in turn will have the pleasure of doing certain duties for a weekall summer through.
"First, we will choose a Corporal to assist me for the summer. We mayvote for a new Corporal, or allow Helen Marshall to hold her post. Hereare nine slips of paper to vote upon. Each girl can cast a vote forHelen, or for another girl in the Patrol, and no one shall know whowrites the vote. Sign no name to the paper, but we will soon know whatthe general wish of the group is."
Eight girls voted for Helen to continue in the Patrol as Corporal, andit turned out that Helen herself voted for Mary Howe as Corporal.
"Well, Helen is our Corporal still. Now, girls, form ranks so we candesignate to each one the duties of the week."
The eight girls formed in two rows, four in each row, with Helen at thefront with the Leader. Then Miss Mason began: "Mary, you shall be campcook for the first week. Amy is water-scout. Mildred, you arecamp-cleaner,--you have all the baggage and tents to look after. Lillianwill look after the pantry and dishwashing. Peggy must take full chargeof the wood and fire. Elizabeth will be the baker for this week; Alicewill see that the camp-grounds and latrine are kept clean and in order;and Dorothy will have to be shopper and table-worker. Helen, of course,is responsible for all work being done properly, and I must supervisethe Patrol and advise each one on any problem. Now, are there anyquestions to ask about the duties assigned?"
Each Scout knew what was expected of her, so there were no remarks atthe time. Miss Mason resumed her talk, to Natalie's great delight.
"The fire-maker will immediately build a luncheon fire, and the cookwill begin preparations for the midday meal, as we are hungry and willlunch before planning further tasks."
"Miss Mason, where shall I find any food for luncheon?" now asked thecamp cook of the Leader.
"In the soap box that the storekeeper placed with the luggage. We haveeverything there necessary to keep us in food over Sunday. The ediblesmust be kept under shelter, girls, so reserve the small tent for ourpantry for a few days."
The wood-gatherer ran away to collect such fire-wood as was needed for aslight fire to cook luncheon, the table-scout selected a flat place tospread out the table-cloth, and soon everyone in the Patrol was workingindustriously. Natalie had nothing to do, and Miss Mason came over toher and entertained.
"Well, Natalie, in the life you've led since you left New York,
have youany reason to regret coming to Green Hill Farm?"
"I should say not! Why, Miss Mason, these two weeks have simply flownby,--I have had so much to do, and have had so much fun doing it,"exclaimed Natalie enthusiastically.
Miss Mason smiled. "If you continue improving in looks and health as youhave in two weeks, Natalie, no one will ever accuse you of beingdelicate, or pessimistic. I should say you can compete with Janet forhealth and vivacity now."
"Did you know Janet is coming this afternoon?" asked Natalie eagerly.
"Yes, she told me the other day that she was ready to run away from thecity the moment school closed. She would have started from home lastnight, but the expressman had not called for her trunk and she had notleft out anything to use in case the trunk did not arrive here on time.So they are checking it on her ticket to insure its arrival to-day."
"I'll be so glad to see Janet,--she always inspires me with a desire todo more than I want to when I am left to myself," remarked Natalie.
"That is the effect of her natural energy and activity," added MissMason.
"I was thinking, as I watched you call a meeting of the Scouts, what acorking assistant Janet would make in a Scout Troop. I don't know whatname you give her in a Troop, but in this Patrol you called her aCorporal," said Natalie.
"In a Troop she would be called a Lieutenant, but she would have to beeighteen years of age, or over, and Janet is not that. So she would haveto be a Corporal for a time."
"Miss Mason, if we five girls want to form a Patrol, can we do so andchoose Janet for our Corporal?" asked Natalie.
"If you had eight girls to form a Patrol you could do so, but until youhad that number you would have to enlist with an already-formed Patrol.You five girls might join us for a time and, perhaps, secure enoughgirls living at Greenville to complete the necessary number to start asecond Patrol. We have not applied at Headquarters yet for a Charter toform a Troop, but we hope to do so this year, if you girls can foundanother Patrol and make our membership claim two individual Patrols. Isaw a number of girls of your age on our way from the station to GreenHill. I am sure those girls would hail an invitation to join a ScoutPatrol."
"Maybe they would, but I never thought of any girls in Greenville, MissMason. I rather thought they would be too busy with home work, or theirown pleasures, to bother about Scouts."
"There is where you wrong them. Not a girl in the country but would loveto join such an organization. They can always find enough time to do thenecessary requirements of a good Scout, and the pleasure and benefitthey get out of a Troop more than repays them for the time used. Iexpect to interest all the girls of a membership age around Greenvillebefore we return to the city this fall."
"I'll talk it over with Jimmy, Miss Mason, and see what she thinks ofthis idea. I believe the Ames girl would join us, if we told her aboutthe plan," said Natalie.
"And once the Ames girl was a Scout, she would tell her friends and theyall would want to join us,--see?"
"Yes, if they thought it was going to be any fun."
At this point in the discussion the cook came up and asked Miss Mason toshow her certain matters in connection with the soup-kettle. Natalielaughed at the girl's anxious expression. But when Miss Mason invitedher to come, too, and tell them what was wrong with the pot, Nataliehastened to say she would have to go back to the house and get ready togo to the station for Janet!