"Jus' over yander, a bit of ways. It's quite a gay resort, I've hear'd Jed say, where they sells gas to riders what come through. But I hain't never gone there, 'cause I don't mingle with society. I am a church member and 'tends to my business." The lady tossed her head with a self-righteous air as she said the last words.
Jim said: "I'm sorry that four-ounce bottle wouldn't do, Missus." And the scouts bowed as they left her standing on the "stoop."
CHAPTER THREE
IN THE MOUNTAINS AT LAST
The scouts finally reached Old Forge, where they had been due a full day sooner. Mr. Gilroy was worried at their non-appearance and had telephoned to their homes to learn that they had left on time. Then he followed them along their route and at some places he heard they had stopped and gone again, and at others that they had not yet arrived. But the moment the girls saw him and heard his complaint, they laughed at his concern.
"Nice way to treat your adopted father – laugh at him, because he worried over his girls!" said he in pretended grievance.
"But what could possibly happen when we had Jim and Verny at the wheels?" asked Ruth.
"That's just it! With the Captain leading, I was sure you would be jailed for speeding, and would need me to bail you out," teased he.
"We needed baling out when we got in the river-flood, but not in jail!" laughed Julie.
"If we had dreamed you had a 'phone way up here, we would have called you to help us, that time," added Joan.
Then the story of the mud and flood had to be told, while Mr. Gilroy sat on the side-door of the car and directed the Captain which road to take to reach his bungalow.
"Did our outfits get here all right, Mr. Gilroy?" asked Ruth.
"Yes, and they have been down at your camp several days now," replied their host.
"How far is our camp from your bungalow, Mr. Gilroy?" asked Betty.
"Not very far – just a nice walk. Your camp is right on the shore of one lake, while my bungalow is on the shore of First Lake, one of the Fulton Chain, you know."
The scouts then learned that Mr. Gilroy's estate extended from First Lake, where his bungalow was built, across country to Little Moose Lake where their camp was to be. This was a distance of about three-quarters of a mile between the two places.
"We'll stop at the bungalow first and give you a good square meal after all your experiences; then we'll go on over to camp. When your baggage is all out of the cars, Jim and I will drive back to my garage where the machines can stand."
"Oh, Jim is going back home with Dad's car, to-morrow," said Ruth.
"And Verny is going to keep hers here for the summer," added Julie.
The cold luncheon had been waiting a long time, and when the scouts finally arrived they did justice to the viands. Then, every one being eager to see the new camp-site, they started for the Lake. Here everything was in order to receive the tenants. Three fine tents, fully equipped with every possible comfort for the campers, were waiting for the girls, and a smaller tent for the Captain.
"Oh, how wonderful! Why, this won't be like roughing it," declared several of the girls as they inspected their camp.
"Everything is ready but the fancy touches. You girls will have to add them as your experiences pile up," said Mr. Gilroy.
"What do you mean?" asked Julie.
"Oh, collections of butterflies, flower-prints, willow-work, and birchbark articles – all these are fancy touches."
It was late in the afternoon when the scouts arrived at the bungalow, and it was twilight before they had their baggage all unpacked and in their individual tents. Then when the cars were emptied and it was time to drive them back to the garage, Mr. Gilroy said:
"As this is your first night, and everything is strange, you'd better come back to the house for a light supper. Get your beds all ready to turn into, and then let everything else go until morning."
Mrs. Vernon approved of this plan, so they finished their tasks and jumped in the cars to drive back to the bungalow for the evening. Darkness crept into the woods and everything was silent as they reached the house.
While Jim followed the host to the garage with the cars, the scouts sat on the verandah and enjoyed the quiet of the woods. The stars now began to peep out of the deep blue that could be seen here and there through the trees, and the Captain reminded the girls:
"Now that we are here for the summer, you must resume your study of the stars. You dropped that, you know, when schoolwork took so much of your time."
"Most of us know all the stars by heart, Verny," said Betty.
"The names of them, yes, but how many of you can find them as they are placed in the sky?" returned Mrs. Vernon.
"I can show you where the Pole Star is. Look there!" replied Joan, running out on the grass to find the bright point of light.
"And I can find Great Bear and The Pointers," added Ruth, joining her friend on the grass.
The other scouts now jumped up from the verandah and ran to join the first two, so the Captain followed, also.
"I know Alcor, Mizor, and the Square of Pegasus," said Amy.
"That panlike group of stars is known as Andromeda," added Julie, not to be outdone by her chums. "And those three little stars are called The Kids. Off to the left of Perseus – oh, I forgot to say that Perseus is a group of stars at the end of the pan-handle, – well, to the left of them are the bright stars known as Capella."
"Bravo! you scouts are going to be marvelous astronomers some day," came the approving voice of Mr. Gilroy, as he joined them.
"I was just telling the girls they would have to take up the study of the heavens again," mentioned Mrs. Vernon.
"And we were showing off to let the Captain hear how much we know," laughed Julie.
"Who can find The Lady in the Chair or The Guards?" asked Mr. Gilroy of the scouts.
The girls eagerly sought for and described these groups, then their host asked for the Seven Sisters and Demon's Eye. When they had answered these, Ruth said:
"If the trees were not so thick I could show you Orion, Taurus, and lots more, like the Lion, the Sickle, Canis Major, etc."
"Hoh! Some of those – and the Clown, the Ox-Driver, the Southern Cross, and the Northern Cross – can't be seen at this time of year, Ruth," said Julie.
Ruth frowned at the correction, but Mr. Gilroy quickly calmed the troubled waters with praise for the girls.
"You scouts certainly know the stars better than the boys of Grey Fox Troop. I should like to have the two Troops have a match game about the stars, some time."
"Who are the Grey Fox boys, Mr. Gilroy?" asked Julie.
"Do you remember I told you, last summer, of some Boy Scouts who camped in my woods every year? Well, four of those boys are here now. The rest of the Troop are coming up in August, but these four have all summer to camp in. I'm going to introduce you, soon."
"Verny, why can't we see all the stars all the year?" now asked Ruth.
"Because the earth turns on its axis, you know, so that certain planets are out of sight for us, and are seen on the other side of the globe. Then when the earth turns fully around we see them again."
"And the Pole Star is reckoned to be the center of the star-sky for all the others to move about it. The Pole Star is always in the same fixed place, so we can always locate it. But not so with the other stars," added Mr. Gilroy.
"I wish some one would tell us a story about the stars," Hester now said.
"Who will tell one?" asked Mrs. Vernon.
"I know that Mizor and Alcor were used by the Turks in past days as a test for eyesight. Soldiers who could not sight those two stars were