More Tish, Page 3

oursuitcases, a sort of cheer went up. It was, however, an orderlyleave-taking, perhaps owing to the fact that Tish's rifle was packed infull view on Modestine's back.

  I have a great admiration for Tish. She does not fear the pointingfinger of scorn. She took the most direct route out of town, and by thetime we had reached the outskirts we had a string of small boys behindus like the tail of a kite. When we reached the cemetery and sat down torest they formed a circle round us and stared at us.

  Tish looked at her watch. We had been an hour and twenty minutes goingtwo miles!

  II

  We were terribly thirsty, but none of us cared to drink from thecemetery well; in fact, the question of water bothered us all that day.It was very warm, and after we left the suburban trolley-line, wheremotormen stopped the cars to look at us and people crowded to theporches to stare at us, the water question grew serious. Tish hadstudied sanitation, and at every farm we came to the well was improperlylocated. Generally it was immediately below the pigsty.

  Luckily we had brought along some blackberry cordial, and we took a sipof that now and then. But the suitcases were heavy, and at eleveno'clock Aggie said the cordial had gone to her head and she could go nofarther. Tish was furious.

  "I told you how it would be!" she said. "For about forty years youhaven't used your legs except to put shoes and stockings on. Of coursethey won't carry you."

  "It isn't my feet, it's my head," Aggie sniffed. "If I had some waterI'd b-be all right. If you're going to examine everything you drink witha microscope you might as well have stayed at home."

  "I'd have died before I drank out of that last well," snapped Tish. "Onecould tell by looking at that woman that there are dead rats and thingsin the water."

  "You are not so particular at home," Aggie asserted. "You use vinegar,don't you? And I'm sure it's full of wrigglers. You can see them whenyou hold the cruet to the light."

  We got her to go on finally, and at the next well we boiled a pailful ofwater and made some tea. We found a grove beside the road and built afire in our stove there, and while Modestine was grazing we sat andsoaked our feet in a brook and looked for blisters. Tish calculated thatas we had been walking for six hours we'd probably gone twenty-twomiles. But I believe it was about eight.

  While we drank our tea and ate the luncheon Hannah had put up wediscussed our plans. Tish's original scheme had been to follow thedonkey; but as he would not move without some one ahead, leading him,this was not feasible.

  "We want to keep away from the beaten path," Tish said with a pickle inone hand and her cup in the other. "These days automobiles goeverywhere. I'm in favor of heading straight for the mountain."

  "I'm not," I said firmly. "Here in civilization we can find a barn on arainy night."

  "There are plenty of caves in the mountains," said Tish. "Besides, toget the real benefit of this we ought to sleep out, rain or shine. Agentle spring rain hurts no one."

  We rested for two hours; it was very pleasant. Modestine ate all thatwas left of the luncheon, and Aggie took a nap with her head on hersuitcase. If we had not had the suitcases we should have been quitecontented. Tish, with her customary ability, solved that.

  "We need only one suitcase," she declared. "We can leave the other twoat this farmhouse and pack a few things for each of us in the one wetake along. Then we can take turns carrying it."

  Aggie wakened finally and was rather more docile about the suitcasesthan we had expected. Possibly she would have been more indignant; buther feet had swollen so while she had her shoes off that she couldhardly get them on at all, and for the remainder of the day her mindwas, you may say, in her feet.

  At four we stopped again and made more tea. The road had begun to risetoward the hills and the farmhouses were fewer. Ahead of us loomedThunder Cloud Mountain, with the Camel's Back to the right of it. Theroad led up the valley between.

  It was hardly a road at all, being a grass-grown wagontrack with not ahouse in a mile. Aggie was glad of the grass, for she had taken off hershoes by that time and was carrying them slung over her shoulder on theend of her parasol. We were on the lower slope of the mountain when weheard the green automobile.

  It was coming rapidly from behind us. Aggie had just time to sit on abank--and her feet--before it came in sight. It was a long, low,bright-green car and there were four men in it. They were bent forward,looking ahead, except one man who sat so he could see behind him.

  They came on us rather suddenly, and the man who was looking back yelledto us as they passed, but what with noise and dust I couldn't make outwhat he said. The next moment the machine flew ahead and out of sightamong the trees.

  "What did he say?" I asked. Aggie, who has a tendency to hay-fever, wassneezing in the dust.

  "I don't know," returned Tish absently, staring after them. "Probablyasked us if we wanted a ride. Lizzie, those men had guns!"

  "Fiddlesticks!" I said.

  "Guns!" repeated Tish firmly.

  "Well, what of it? Our donkey has a gun."

  And as at that instant the sleeping-bags and provisions slid gentlyround under Modestine's stomach, the green automobile and its occupantspassed out of our minds for a while.

  By the time we had got the things on Modestine's back again we wereconvinced he had been a mistake. He objected to standing still to bereloaded, and even with Tish at his head and Aggie at his tail he keptturning in a circle, and in fact finally kicked out at Aggie andstretched her in the road. Then, too, his back was not flat like ahorse's. It went up to a sort of peak, and was about as handy to packthings on as the ridge-pole of a roof.

  For an hour or so more we plodded on. Tish, who is an enthusiast aboutanything she does, kept pointing out wild flowers to us and talkingabout the unfortunates back in town under roofs. But I kept thinking ofa broiled lamb chop with new potatoes, and my whole being revolted atthe thought of supper out of a can.

  At twilight we found a sort of recess in the valley, level and not toothickly wooded, and while Tish and I set up the stove and lighted a fireAggie spread out the sleeping-bags and got supper ready. We had cannedsalmon and potato salad. We ate ravenously and then, taking off ourshoes and our walking suits, and getting into our flannel kimonos andputting up our crimps--for we were determined not to lapse into slovenlypersonal habits--we were ready for the night.

  Tish said there were all sorts of animals on Thunder Cloud, so we builta large fire to keep them away. Tish said this was the customary thing,being done in all the adventure books she had read.

  Aggie had to be helped into her sleeping-bag, her fur coat having beenrather skimp. But, once in, she said it was heavenly, and she was asleepalmost immediately. Tish and I followed, and I found I had placed my bagover a stone. I was, however, too tired to get up.

  I lay and looked at the stars twinkling above the treetops, and I feltsorry for people who had nothing better to look at than a wall-paperedceiling. Tish, next to me, was yawning.

  "If there are snakes," she observed drowsily, "they are not poisonous--Ishould think. And, anyhow, no snake could strike through these heavybags."

  She went to sleep at once, but I lay there thinking of snakes for sometime. Also I remembered that we'd forgotten to leave our weapons withinreach, although, as far as that goes, I should not have slept a winkhad Aggie had her Fourth-of-July celebration near at hand. Then I wentto sleep. The last thing I remember was wishing we had brought a dog.Even a box of cigars would have been some protection--we could havelighted one and stuck it in the crotch of a tree, as if a man wasmounting guard over the camp. This idea, of course, was not original. Itwas done first by Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the detective.

  It must have been toward dawn that I roused, with a feeling that someone was looking down at me. The fire was very low and Aggie was sleepingwith her mouth open. I got up on my elbow and stared round. There wasnothing in sight, but through the trees I heard a rustling of leaves andthe crackling of brushwood. Whatever it was it had gone. I turned overand before long went to sleep again. r />
  At daylight I was roused by raindrops splashing on my face. I sat uphastily. Aggie was sleeping with the flap of her bag over her head, andTish, under an umbrella, was sitting fully dressed on a log, poring overher road map. When I sat up she glanced over at me.

  "I think I know where we are now, Lizzie," she said. "Thunder CloudMountain is on our left, and that hill there to the right is theCamel's Back. The road goes right up Thunder Cloud Glen."

  I looked at the fire, which was out; at Modestine, standing meekly bythe tree to which he was tied; at the raindrops bounding off Aggie'sround and prostrate figure--and I rebelled. Every muscle was sore; ithurt me even to yawn.

  "Letitia Carberry!" I said indignantly. "You don't mean to tell me