CHAPTER II
The Land of Romance
Two weeks later two women were walking up and down a garden path in themoonlight.
Across from them stood a long, low adobe house of a single story. Theveranda, extending from one end to the other, was so thickly coveredwith a flowering vine that even in the moonlight one could get thereflection of its brilliant color. The air was scented with the fragrantperfume of roses and the blossoms of orange and lemon trees. From behindthe soft shading of the vine across the road came the brilliant twangingof a guitar and a mandolin. Two voices were singing a Spanish love song.
Farther away under the deeper shadow of the moon a white cross aroseabove a mass of fallen stone.
"I declare, Mollie, this is the old world, not the new, isn't it? I feelas if we had traveled away from our own country today into a foreignland; but what land I cannot say, because this place tonight must bemore beautiful and more romantic than even Spain itself. Yet one is notsorry to forget for a little while the present world and its tragedies!"
The other woman shook her head. The two sisters were the same height,had nearly the same character of features and the same coloring;nevertheless were curiously unlike.
One conspicuous difference was in their voices.
"Do you know, Polly, I think perhaps you have made a mistake in bringingthe Camp Fire girls to spend the summer in so picturesque a place. Weprobably shall have a romance on our hands before the season is over,"Mrs. Webster answered. "It is natural of course that _you_ should beaffected by such surroundings. But when a night like this has aninfluence upon a woman of my age with an almost grown-up family, itmakes me feel extremely nervous when I consider the girls."
Mrs. Burton laughed.
"Nevertheless, my beloved Mollie, even if you _have_ a grown-up familyand I have no children, I don't see what difference the fact makes inour ages, as we happen to be twins. Besides, I never could see why ageshould destroy one's susceptibility to beauty! My only feeling is thatperhaps we have no right to ease and enjoyment of any kind this summer,now that the United States has entered the war. I don't think I shouldhave invited the girls on this long trip had I known beforehand. I feelI ought to be devoting all my energies to war work; however, we must dowhatever we can out here. Richard seemed to think it impossible to haveme near the southern camp where he is located."
Mrs. Webster sighed gently in response. She was unhappy over the war,too, but not so inclined as her sister to take deeply to heart thesorrows of the world when they did not touch her personally.
"Well, I am glad we can be together for a few months longer, Polly. Irealize it is selfish of me, and yet I do rejoice that neither Dan norBilly is old enough to be drafted. Dan's desire to volunteer is ofcourse ridiculous! At least, I shall safe-guard my boys. I am also gladmy husband is doing war work by increasing the amount of food raisedupon our place, instead of entering the service as an ordnance officeras your husband has. Dear me, I really think it is very fine of Richardat his age!"
Shrugging her shoulders, Mrs. Burton smiled a little ruefully.
"You are determined to dwell upon our great age tonight, aren't you,Mollie mine? Please remember that your daughter Peggy bestowed heraffections upon Ralph Marshall last summer when we were at the GrandCanyon and not in southern California. Yet I do feel that with thepossibility of young soldiers and officers turning up at any moment inour midst, you and I will have to be unusually vigilant chaperons.
"But do let us go now and find what has become of the girls. We have hada long journey and should soon be in bed."
Mrs. Burton slipped her arm inside her sister's and drew her away fromthe old hotel garden across the gleaming road.
To the right of them, bathed in the half-tropic moonlight, was the oldSpanish mission of San Juan Capistrano, named in honor of awarrior-saint of the Crusades. It was the loveliest place in allCalifornia.
As they walked slowly on Mrs. Burton recited in an undertone, and withthe emotional sweetness which had captivated countless audiences andwhich never failed to thrill her sister:
"Up from the south slow filed a train, Priests and soldiers of old Spain, Who through the sunlit country wound With cross and lance, intent to found A mission in that wild to John, Soldier saint of Capistran."
They stopped a moment as if to let the beauty sink deep, and then thetwo women entered the gate of the old mission grounds.
Early in the afternoon the Sunrise Camp Fire party had arrived at thelittle half-foreign town of Capistrano, set midway, like a link with thepast, between the two modern cities of San Diego and Los Angeles. Forhours they had been exploring the old mission. Then, after dinner, theCamp Fire girls, with Dan and Billy Webster to act as escorts had askedthe privilege of returning to remain in the old mission garden untilbedtime.
Tonight, to Mrs. Burton's eyes at least, the mission looked like ahalf-ruined palace of dreams. Once the mission of San Juan Capistranoheld a great stone church, a pillared court, a portico, a rectangle;here the Franciscan fathers had their cells, and many rooms fordistinguished guests. It was the richest and most splendid mission inold California.
But at present only the ruins of its past remained.
Above, in one of the crumbling arches of the colonnade, an owl hooted sohoarsely that Mrs. Webster clutched her sister's arm in a tighter clasp.The greeting had sounded, not like a welcome, but a warning.
There was no one to be seen and the place was wrapped in a kind ofghostly silence.
"It is most extraordinary how the girls and Dan and Billy havedisappeared," Mrs. Burton whispered plaintively, scarcely daring tospeak in a natural tone.
She and Mrs. Burton had passed through one of the colonnades and werenow in the old court in the rear. Along one side ran a line of forsakencloisters.
"Wait a moment, Mollie, please," Mrs. Burton murmured.
Adding to the enchantment of the present scene she could hear again thesound of music. The two musicians who had been singing on the verandaacross from their hotel also must have wandered into the missiongrounds.
Then, almost at the same instant, Mrs. Burton and Mrs. Websterdiscovered the Camp Fire girls.
Beyond the enclosed space of the old mission lay a broad piece of openground. Over it tonight poured the unbroken radiance of the moon. Intime long past this ground had been devoted to the use of the Indianswho were being taught Christianity and the habits of civilization by theSpanish fathers. In those days this ground was encircled by a row ofIndian huts. One part was set apart for the Indian women and girls, andhere the Indian maiden remained in seclusion until her wedding day.
But tonight, in some mysterious fashion, the past seemed to have cameback, for a group of Indian maidens had returned to their formerdwelling place.
"The picture is too lovely to disturb," Mrs. Burton whisperedirresolutely.
In the moonlight one could not discern the differences in the costumesof the Camp Fire girls, nor their fairer coloring.
Bettina, Marta, Peggy and Alice Ashton were seated upon the ground,forming a square, with Dan standing apparently hovering like a guardianangel above them.
As usual, Billy Webster was lying gazing up at the sky and VeraLagerloff was sitting beside him.
A little apart from the others Gerry Williams and Sally Ashton werestrolling up and down with their arms intertwined.
"Do you think we should speak of our plan immediately?" Bettina Grahamwas inquiring of the other three girls. "Unless we can carry it out Idon't feel that we have the right to our Camp Fire summer together."
In the moonlight her yellow brown hair had turned a bright gold.
Peggy, who was ever a direct and sensible person, shook her head.
"We must wait until we have found the location for our camp and arefairly well settled," she replied. "At present our own ideas as to whatwe can do to help with the war work are much too vague. But I suppose weshall be near the great National Guard war training camp, and that initself ought to be a
n inspiration. Have you ever heard from your woundedlieutenant, Bettina? It was amusing to have him and his friend to tea inso unexpected a fashion. I shall never forget how amazed the family wason discovering us with soldier guests. I am sorry we have never seeneither of them again."
"I have had one note from Lieutenant Carson, saying that he was allright," Bettina answered. "He will probably be stationed at thecantonment near here. I wish for your sake Ralph Marshall was to bethere instead."
There was no engagement existing between Peggy Webster and RalphMarshall. But Peggy was too transparent a person to conceal her interestin Ralph after their past summer of misunderstanding and finalreconciliation. As Ralph had volunteered and joined the aviation corpssoon after the entry of the United States into the war, she had notseen him in many months. But it was understood that they wrote to eachother and Peggy openly expressed her pride in Ralph's courage andability. Ralph had been offered an opportunity to remain in his owncountry and act as an aviation instructor, but instead had chosen to goto France. At the present time he was in a camp on Long Island waitinghis hour for sailing.
Before Peggy could make a reply to Bettina's final speech, the fourgirls saw their Camp Fire guardians approaching and rose to greet them.
"You girls look too picturesque to disturb, and yet we must not remainoutdoors all night, no matter how the beauty of the night tempts us. Itrust we may have many other nights as radiant as this before our summeris over," said Mrs. Burton, half apologizing for her own and hersister's intrusion.
A few moments later the Sunrise Camp Fire girls were walking slowly awayfrom the mission grounds to their own rose-covered hotel.
Not by accident, but because of a common purpose, Sally and Gerrymanaged to linger a few yards behind the others.
The singing which had so fascinated Mrs. Burton and added to thewitchery of the night had also attracted the attention of the two girls.But it was not the music alone which had charmed them. In their carelessstrolling up and down apart from their companions, Sally and Gerry haddimly seen the figures of the two musicians.
The mysterious singers had kept always in the background, onlyapproaching sufficiently near for their songs to be heard; and yet,notwithstanding this, Sally and Gerry had managed to find out that theywere two young men dressed in Mexican costumes. But whether they wereMexicans or Americans they could not guess, since it was impossible tosee their faces and they seemed able to sing Spanish or English songswith equal ease.
The fact was that Gerry and Sally had arranged a scheme between them bywhich they hoped to make a desired discovery. Their scheme would haveappalled the other Camp Fire girls, but they chanced to have unlikeviews in regard to the agreeable adventures and experiences of life.Moreover, they often preferred bestowing their confidences only uponeach other.
As the rest of the Camp Fire party moved on, both Sally and Gerry becameaware that the musicians were growing bolder and were drawing nearer.
Both girls would have liked to turn round and deliberately look back.Yet they had scarcely the courage for this breach of taste, in spite ofthe fact that it was night and the redeeming grace of the moonlightrested over them.
Sally was carrying a little beaded Indian bag which she managed to dropwithout any one, aside from Gerry, noticing.
After going on a little further, unexpectedly they turned back to pickup the lost possession.
The two young men were thus within only a few feet of them.
There was but little satisfaction in the adventure, nevertheless, foralthough one of the musicians stepped forward and gravely presentedSally with the Indian bag he had observed on the ground between them;yet neither he nor his companion spoke and it was impossible, withtheir broad Mexican hats, to obtain a satisfactory view of their faceswithout revealing too great curiosity.
As a matter of fact, the entire Camp Fire party was unaware of theinterest their appearance in the little town of Capistrano during theafternoon had excited. There were always tourists visiting the oldmission, especially at this season of the year. But the number andappearance of the girls, their picturesque, half Indian costumes, whichalways puzzled people unacquainted with the Camp Fire uniform, and thebig wagon carrying their large camping outfit, gave them a uniquedistinction.