“I can’t see any change,” said Joan.
“What! don’t you think your friends here have improved any whatsoever since we decided to begin a Troop?”
“Oh – the girls have – a little, but I haven’t!”
“You have, too, but you don’t see it yet. Wait.”
“All the same, Verny, tell us when we can start?” begged Julie.
“Well, Mr. Vernon sails for his European trip on Monday, so I see nothing to keep us home after that. Can you all be ready to go on Tuesday morning?”
“You know we can – why ask?” laughed Julie.
“Maybe you’d prefer us to start Monday afternoon after you come home from the steamer,” suggested Ruth.
Mrs. Vernon laughed. “Hardly as soon as that.”
When Tuesday arrived, however, the girls found many little things to delay them, so it was past nine o’clock before they met at the old headquarters, but the tent had disappeared.
“Here we are, Verny, bag and baggage!” shouted Julie, as they tramped up the side-steps of the porch.
“And some of our folks are coming over in a few minutes to see us off. I suspect they have various advices to whisper to you, as well as leave with us some forgotten parting words,” said Joan.
“Eliza’s going to give us a parting pie,” added Betty, so innocently that every one laughed.
“Well, the visitor that we invited to camp with us for the summer is hitched up and waiting to start,” Mrs. Vernon informed the girls, as she pointed towards the barns, where a horse was seen going down the back road.
“Why, Hepsy’s hooked up to a buckboard? What for?” asked Ruth.
“We won’t need it this summer, so Uncle Verny suggested that Hepsy take it along for us to use if we had to go to the stores at Freedom, or should we want to go away on a picnic.”
“Say – that’s a great idea! I never thought of it,” said Julie.
“Which proves that you have no monopoly on great ideas,” retorted Joan.
Then the automobile drove up to the steps and was soon followed by a heavy rumbling auto-truck that was used for heavy cartage at Mr. Vernon’s factory. He had sent it down for the newly-fledged Scout Troop to make use of to carry tents, boxes and what not to Verny’s Mountain.
The advance line of family members now came straggling up the road to watch their girls depart. Before the truck started, the other friends arrived, so there was quite a crowd to wish them good-by and good-luck as they climbed into the car and wildly waved hats and hands.
The ride seemed very short that morning, for so much had to be talked over, and the village of Freedom was reached before they could realize it. Then began the ascent up the woodroad to the plateau. Here the car halted, and the chauffeur assisted the driver of the truck in transferring the boxes and baggage to the buckboard Hepsy had brought thus far.
“We’ll have to stable Hepsy somewhere, girls,” suggested Julie, as she stood and watched the men work.
“Yes, we ought to make that our first concern, for Hepsy may not appreciate outdoor life as we do – especially if it rains.”
“We’ll build her a hut,” promised Ruth, eagerly.
“And let her sit out under a tree for the four weeks it will take us to erect it?” laughed Joan.
The girls were too eager to reach their campsite to wait any longer for the men to complete the baggage transfer, so they informed the Captain:
“We’ll take our suitcases and start up, Verny!”
Mrs. Vernon readily agreed to this, so they started off and were soon out of sight. Once they had reached the old cabin, Julie said:
“Let’s get out of these city clothes and get into our scout camp-uniforms.”
This met with general approval, and soon the girls were gleefully comparing notes about each other’s appearance. But this was interrupted when shouts and crackling of brush was heard. Then poor Hepsy was seen snorting and pulling to bring the loaded buckboard up to the plateau.
“Gee! That’s some haul – that grade!” complained Jim, as he mopped his hot brow and stood looking back at the steep road.
“And Hepsy’s so soft from no recent work!” added Mrs. Vernon, as she reached his side. Jim was too easy with the horses for their own good, so she said what she did to let him know his sympathy was misplaced.
Hepsy began nibbling at the luscious grass that grew near her feet, and Mrs. Vernon laughingly added: “Poor thing! She must be almost dead to be able to start right in and eat like that.”
The luggage was taken to the hut and then Jim went back for a second load. The back seat of the buckboard had been removed so the camp outfit could be easily piled upon the floor of the vehicle. But it did not hold very much, hence it was necessary to make several trips.
When all was carted up to the campsite, Mrs. Vernon said: “Now, Jim, remember to bring the oats once a week for Hepsy, and any other things I write for. See that all mail is forwarded to Freedom, where we can get it.”
Jim promised to see that everything was done as requested, then he, too, left. When the last chugs from the automobile truck and the car died away, Mrs. Vernon turned to the girls.
“Well, scouts, here we are for a whole summer of delights!”
“Hip, hip – ” began Julie, and the others joined in.
“Don’t you think the hut has grown smaller since we were here last?” asked Betty, wonderingly.
“That is because you were picturing the place on a much grander scale after you got home than it actually is. It is your thought that has to dwindle again to take in the proportion of the hut as it is,” replied the Captain, amused at Betty’s experience.
“I thought the very same thing, but I hated to say anything that sounded like criticism,” admitted Joan.
“Tell the truth, girls, I think that hut is tiny, but it looked big enough the other day,” laughed Julie.
“Then we must build ours larger than this,” said Mrs. Vernon, turning to look over the stock of things needing shelter.
“It looks like an awful heap of stuff, doesn’t it?” asked Ruth.
“Yes, but we needed everything, so we had to bring them.”
“What shall we do first, Verny?” asked Betty.
“Better pitch the tent first of all, and arrange the cots, then we can work as long as we like, without worrying about having to make our beds.”
The girls quickly unrolled the large canvas tent they had purchased, but when it came to erecting it, they found it a much more difficult task than they had anticipated. Jim and the gardener had helped pitch it the first time, but now they were absent.
However, after many failures, the tent was up, albeit it looked wobbly and one-sided. The cots were next opened and placed under the canvas, and the lockers were dragged to their right places.
“Where’s the crex rug Verny said we could bring for the ground inside the tent?” called Julie, thrusting her head from the opening of the canvas. But she forgot Ruth had placed a pole directly in front of the entrance to hold up the flap temporarily.
“Ouch! Who left that tree-trunk right in the way?” cried Julie, as she bumped her head smartly.
“That’s the porter standing at the door of our hotel!” retorted Joan, laughing as she saw Julie scowling.
“Well, where’s the crex rug, anyway?” demanded Julie.
“Come