Shady Hollow Camp
Confronted with the problem of how to drive a car without an ignition
key, Mrs. Williams was deeply concerned.
“I don’t know how to get into the house without breaking a window,” she
said anxiously. “I dislike to do that, for it would mean leaving the
home unprotected while we’re at Shady Hollow.”
“Perhaps one of the windows was left unlocked,” Rosemary said
hopefully. Getting out of the sedan, she wandered around the house
testing the ones she could reach. All were securely fastened.
“I’m certain I locked all the windows,” Mrs. Williams sighed. “Unless--”
“Unless what, Mother?” Connie demanded.
“I may have overlooked that tiny one in the washroom. But it’s too far
overhead to reach.”
“Lift me up and I think I can,” Connie urged her mother.
Mrs. Williams raised her daughter high on her shoulders. Connie wobbled
and weaved but finally held her balance.
Then she tried the window. But though she tugged and shoved and pushed
it would not budge an inch.
“It’s no use,” said Mrs. Williams, lowering Connie to the ground. “The
window is locked.”
“What can we do?” Rosemary asked in deep despair. “Won’t we get to go
to camp with the other Brownies?”
“We’ll get there somehow,” declared Mrs. Williams. “If only I could
think--”
“I see a window that is open!” Veve suddenly broke in.
“Where?” demanded Connie and Rosemary, taking new hope.
Veve pointed to a small attic window which during the summer months
always was left open for ventilation purposes.
“I’m afraid it’s a little out of reach,” smiled Mrs. Williams.
“Couldn’t we get up there if we had a high ladder?” Veve insisted.
“It would take a very tall one indeed,” said Mrs. Williams.
“I know how Mrs. Bevens once got into her house when she had locked
everything up,” Connie announced suddenly. “She called the fire
department!”
“Now that is an idea, Connie. But dear me, how mortified I’d be to have
a fire company car pull up here.”
“Let’s be mortified,” urged Veve. “It’s terribly important that we get
to the Brownie camp.”
“Yes, it is,” agreed Mrs. Williams reluctantly. “Very well, I’ll call
the fire station and see if they can help us.”
Going to the home of a neighbor, she immediately telephoned the nearest
station, explaining the situation. Greatly to her relief, the Chief
assured her that he would send a ladder crew immediately.
Rosemary, Veve, and Connie scarcely could contain their excitement when
the big red truck drove up to the front door.
“I wish they’d blow the fire siren,” Veve said, skipping down the walk
to meet the firemen.
Even a glimpse of the equipment had brought many spectators. Neighbors
and children began to gather, thinking that the Williams home might be
on fire.
The firemen talked to Connie’s mother and then they ran a ladder up to
the second-story windows. However, all of them had been locked.
“We’ll have to break a window,” one of the firemen said at last. “That
is, unless we can get in through the attic.”
The window was much too small for a fireman to crawl through. But as he
spoke, the ladder man gazed speculatively at Veve.
“How would you like to be a fireman?” he asked.
“I’d like it!” Veve declared promptly.
“Then do exactly as I say,” instructed the fireman. “Climb up the
ladder just ahead of me. I’ll keep close beside you, so you can’t fall.”
While Mrs. Williams and the other children watched from below, Veve
began the exciting climb. She was not in the least afraid, for the
fireman kept a firm hold on her arm.
When Veve had reached the attic level, she gazed down. The lawn and the
watching people looked very far away. She waved to Connie, and then she
felt a trifle dizzy.
“None of that,” the fireman scolded her. “Just keep your eyes on the
window. I’ll boost you in.”
With the fireman helping, it was easy for Veve to wriggle through. Once
she thought she would stick fast, but her dress merely had caught. The
fireman loosened it for her, and she squeezed on into the attic.
“Now scoot downstairs and open one of the doors or lower floor
windows,” the fireman instructed.
Veve groped her way past the dusty boxes and barrels in the attic. A
door blocked the entranceway to the second floor. For a second she was
afraid it might be locked.
However, it opened readily to her touch, and she ran on downstairs.
With scarcely any trouble, Veve unlocked the front door. Everyone drew
a sigh of relief as she stepped out into the yard.
“Oh, thank you, Veve!” declared Mrs. Williams gratefully. “You’ve saved
the day!”
Entering the house, she found the car keys on the kitchen table where
she carelessly had dropped them.
Mrs. Williams thanked the firemen for their trouble and then prepared
to lock up the house again, ready for their departure.
“Mother, do you have everything now?” Connie asked, an instant before
the front door closed.
“Every single thing,” laughed Mrs. Williams. “At least I think so! But
let’s start before anything else goes wrong.”
“Yes, let’s!” chorused the Brownies, piling into the car.
With the other two automobiles now far ahead, Mrs. Williams drove
rather fast, hoping to make up for lost time. The girls kept watch for
the Davidson car. However, it was nowhere to be seen on the winding
woodland road.
By three o’clock Mrs. Williams had arrived at the village of Shady
Hollow. Stopping at a filling station, she bought cool drinks and
inquired the way to the Girl Scout Camp.
“It’s a half mile farther on,” the filling station man said. “Turn left
at the next traffic light. You’ll see a sign. You can’t miss it.”
The side road leading to the Girl Scout Camp wound through a dense
growth of trees, and along the banks of a wide river. All along the
shore, the girls saw attractive bathing areas and summer cottages. The
woods gave off a fresh, springlike aroma which made them breathe deeply.
“I believe we’re coming to the camp now,” Mrs. Williams said a moment
later as the car rounded another curve. She had caught a fleeting
glimpse of a cleared area with a cluster of tents and cabins.
A moment later the automobile swept through a gateway which bore a
sign: “Shady Hollow Girl Scout Camp,” and pulled up at a little office
constructed of logs.
Connie ran inside to ask how to reach the area where the Brownies were
to camp.
“Follow the roadway to the left and you can’t miss it,” she was
instructed. “Your friends already are here.”
On the car rolled, while the three girls twisted their heads this way
and that, trying not to miss a single detail of the camp.
In the central area were several large buildings made of logs. Beyond
them were a number of tents.
At the beach on the river, they saw several girls lounging on the sand.
Others in Scout uniforms or shorts and blouses were playing tennis or
practicing archery.
“Oh, this camp has everything!” Veve declared breathlessly. “But where
are the Brownies?”
Just then she glimpsed the tent which the Rosedale Troop had bought at
the store. Already it had been set up and staked down. Nearby, crackled
a fire over which hung a kettle of steaming food.
“Hi!” shouted Veve, leaping from the car almost before Mrs. Williams
brought it to a standstill. “We’re here at last!”
“Whatever kept you girls?” demanded Jane, coming to meet her. “We’ve
been here ages and explored half the camp.”
Veve explained about the lost car keys.
“Well, at least you got out of some work by being so late,” Jane
laughed. “The tent is up and most of our things unpacked. We have to
make our beds next.”
“But we didn’t bring any,” said Veve. “Aren’t we going to sleep rolled
up in blankets?”
“Not unless you want to break your back,” Jane rejoined, helping Veve
to lift a suitcase from the car. “Miss Gordon will show us all how to
make balsam beds.”
“What’s a balsam bed?”
“You’ll find out,” laughed Jane, pointing to a pile of cut boughs which
Miss Gordon had brought in from the woodland.
The troop leader instructed the girls on how to insert the butt end of
the boughs into the ground at a slant, thus making a slight arch.
“The needles must point downward or they’ll work through the blanket
and prick you,” she explained. “If you take care all the branches are
at the right angle, and that there are no gaps, your bed should be
quite springy and comfortable.”
“All this seems a lot of bother,” grumbled Veve, who was rather tired
from the long automobile ride to Shady Hollow. “Wouldn’t it be easier
just to sleep on the ground?”
“Easier perhaps, but not very comfortable,” replied Miss Gordon,
smiling. “While you’re making up the beds, I’ll attend to supper.”
Selecting the shorter ends of balsam, the girls struggled with their
beds. Although it had looked easy when Miss Gordon showed them how,
they found it no simple task to place the branches evenly.
“You’re not doing it right,” Jane told Veve severely. “Pine needles are
sticking out everywhere like porcupine quills.”
“I don’t care!” Veve retorted, losing patience. “Who wants an old
balsam bed anyhow? I’ll sleep on the ground.”
Flinging aside a branch, she sauntered out of the tent. Miss Gordon
crouched over the fire, browning steak in a frying pan.
“Why, Veve,” she said in surprise. “How quickly you made your bed.”
“I didn’t make it,” Veve replied, avoiding the troop leader’s direct
gaze. “I’m not going to have a balsam bed. I’d rather sleep on the
ground.”
Miss Gordon acted as if she were about to say something, and then
changed her mind. She turned another piece of steak before she remarked
indifferently:
“Suit yourself, Veve. But I’m afraid by morning you may find the ground
rather hard and cold.”
While the other girls were making their balsam beds, Veve wandered down
to the beach. She also toured the camp, noticing the lodge where some
of the other campers took their meals. Shady Hollow seemed very nice,
she thought.
By the time Veve returned to the Brownie tent, Mrs. Davidson and Mrs.
Williams had started home. The girls had made their beds and now were
washing up for supper.
“Come and get it!” called Miss Gordon.
As the girls filed past, she filled their plates with steak, potatoes
and buttered carrots. They also had milk and ice cream bought at the
scout dining room.
“Yum! Wonderful food!” declared Veve, presenting her plate for a second
helping. “I love camp!”
“Who wouldn’t, if you never do any of the work,” said Jane pointedly.
“Speaking of work,” interposed Miss Gordon as she began to clear away
the cooking pans. “We all must do our share. Each girl is expected to
wash her own utensils and dry them.”
“Will you do all the cooking?” Rosemary inquired, feeling that so far
the troop leader had taken the heavy end of the camp work.
“I’ll take the responsibility for lunches and the main meal at night.
With the training you girls have had in cooking, I think you’re capable
of assuming the planning and preparation of breakfast.”
“When do we start?” Connie asked.
“In the morning. I’ll appoint the committee now. Veve is in charge and
must do the planning. Her assistants are Jane and Eileen. Remember
girls, breakfast at eight o’clock sharp.”
“But what will we have?” Veve asked in panic.
“That’s entirely up to you,” smiled Miss Gordon. “You’ll find bacon,
eggs and oatmeal in the supply box.”
“And what about the fire?” Jane inquired uneasily.
“I’ll start it, and after that you must keep it going. I suggest you
gather a good supply of fuel before you go to bed tonight.”
Veve, Jane and Eileen were somewhat troubled by their appointment as
cooks. After the dishes had been done, they gathered in a group to plan.
“Let’s have something easy like boiled eggs,” suggested Eileen.
Veve promptly overruled her. “No, we’re going to have a good breakfast,
so all the girls will say we’re the best cooks in camp!” she insisted.
“We’ll have scrambled eggs, bacon and oatmeal and maybe toast.”
“Isn’t that too much?” protested Jane. “Think of the work.”
“I’m chairman and do all the planning,” Veve reminded her helpers.
“Miss Gordon said so. Each one of us will cook one thing. I’ll fry the
bacon. Jane can cook the oatmeal while Eileen scrambles the eggs.”
“But I don’t know how to cook oatmeal,” Jane complained. “Let’s settle
for packaged breakfast food.”
“No! Oatmeal is easy to cook. I’ve watched Mother lots of times. You
just measure some in and add water. That’s all there is to it.”
When the girls told Miss Gordon of the menu they had planned, she
raised her eyebrows slightly and said: “A little elaborate for a first
meal, isn’t it?”
However, the Brownie leader did not suggest any changes. She merely
showed the girls where they could find needed supplies.
“Now if you need advice, don’t hesitate to come to me,” she remarked.
“Oh, we’ll get along fine,” said Veve confidently. “Cooking is easy.”
Deep shadows presently crowded in upon the little camp by the willows.
Miss Gordon tossed a log on the fire, and the girls gathered about to
sing and tell stories. By nine o’clock everyone was sleepy and ready to
retire.
One by one the girls tumbled into their balsam bough beds, snuggling
down under the blankets. The only space left for Veve was near the door.
Rolling up in her blankets, she pretended to be very comfortable. And
at first she did not mind lying on the ground.
But as the night wore on, her back began to hurt. She rolled onto
her side. In a moment it felt paralyzed, so she twisted into another
position.
“Quit squirming,” Jane said in a drowsy voice. “We want to go to sleep.”
Veve lay still as long as she could. The ground had begun to feel cold
through her cocoon of blankets. Then something bit her squarely in the
back.
Veve jumped and flung an arm out across Jane’s face.
“Say, quiet down or we’ll toss you out of the tent,” Jane said crossly.
“We want to go to sleep.”
Except for Jane and Veve, the others already were in dreamland.
“Can I help it if something bit me?” Veve muttered. “I’m cold. I’m
going out and sit by the fire.”
Some distance from the tent, the remains of a log still smoldered.
Taking her blankets, Veve snuggled down by the glowing coals. At first
she was fairly comfortable. But as the log died down, the cold of the
night again needled her shaking body.
Finding a pile of wood which had been left for the breakfast fire, Veve
kindled the dying flames. Again she was comfortable for an hour or so.
After that, the wood was gone and the night went on and on.
Shivering and shaking, Veve wondered if the dawn ever would come. Not
a sound could be heard from the tent where the other girls apparently
were sleeping snugly.
When the sun finally broke through the willows, Miss Gordon, arising
to start the fire, was surprised to discover Veve huddled by the dead
ashes.
“Why, Veve, you look half frozen!” she exclaimed. “Didn’t you sleep
comfortably last night?”
“Oh, I decided to get up early,” Veve replied quickly. “I’ll start
breakfast right away.”
However, she continued to hunch by the dead embers of the fire, waiting
until Miss Gordon had started a lively blaze. Gradually, she began to
thaw out.
“We seem to be rather short of wood,” the Brownie troop leader
remarked. “I’m afraid you’ll have to gather more in order to keep the
fire going.”
“I’ll tell Eileen and Jane,” Veve said. “They should be up now to help
me.”
Soon all the girls began to arise and dress. The sun climbed higher,
drying the tent and warming the air.
“While breakfast is being prepared the rest of us may as well have a
dip in the river,” Miss Gordon suggested. “Last one in is a sissy!”
Clad in bathing suits, the Brownies all dashed off to the beach,
leaving Eileen, Veve and Jane to struggle with the fire.
“I can’t keep it going without more wood,” Veve complained, “and you
two stand here loafing.”
“We do not!” Jane retorted. “There was a good pile of wood there last
night. I know because I gathered some the last thing before I went to
bed.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” said Veve quickly. “Just get some more,
while I start the bacon. We have to have breakfast ready by eight
o’clock.”
Soon the bacon began to sizzle in the pan. Satisfied that it was frying
well, Veve turned to help Eileen break eggs into a dish. They could not
decide how many it would take to feed eight hungry persons.
As they debated the matter, Veve suddenly noticed smoke rising from the
frying pan.
“The bacon is burning!” she screamed, turning to rescue it.
“It’s burned you mean--to a crisp,” mourned Eileen as she saw the
shriveled, blackened strips of meat. “Now what’ll we do?”
“Why bother with bacon?” Veve asked. “With eggs and oatmeal we’ll have
enough. Here comes Jane with the wood now.”
The girls built up the fire, but for some reason it refused to burn
down to coals. Instead, it caused more smoke than flame.
“Oh, bother!” Jane exclaimed impatiently. “Who wants to wait all day?
I’m putting the oatmeal on now.”
Following instructions printed on the cereal box, she added water to
the oatmeal and placed the pan on the fire. In a short while, the
kettle was black from smoke, but the water refused to boil.
“I’m sick and disgusted and mad!” Jane announced furiously. “Who ever
thought camping would be fun?”
The girls still were struggling with the fire when the other Brownies
raced in from the beach, dripping wet.
“We’ve had a marvelous swim!” Connie shouted. “And we’re starved. Is
breakfast ready?”
“No, it isn’t,” announced Veve. “What’s more, I don’t think it ever
will be!”
Miss Gordon, without saying anything, rebuilt the fire. Veve, Eileen
and Jane expected her to cook the breakfast, but instead she sat down
nearby with her back to a tree.
“If first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” she remarked. “We’re all
pretty hungry, but I guess we can wait a while longer.”
For the three cooks nothing remained but to start in all over again.
Veve put on another pan of bacon, and this time watched it closely.
After the bacon was crisp, Eileen cooked the eggs. Miss Gordon told
her when to take them off the fire so they would not scorch. As for
the oatmeal, it proved so lumpy that no one wanted to try any. In any
event, the cooks had forgotten to go to the camp store for milk or
cream.
“On the whole, I think our cooks did very well,” Miss Gordon praised
the girls. “However, as supplies have been used rather lavishly, we’ll
need to go into Shady Hollow for more.”
“Can’t we get what we need at the camp store?” inquired Belinda.
Miss Gordon explained that the camp sold only perishables. Staple foods
must be purchased at one of the village stores.
“I’ll go,” offered Veve. “After all, I used up the extra bacon.”
Miss Gordon also named Connie and Rosemary to make the trip, offering
to take the three girls in her car some time after lunch. Meanwhile,
she told the Brownies they might have a free hour in which to write
letters or do whatever they liked.
“I want to make myself a balsam bed,” Veve announced promptly.
“I’ll show you how,” Miss Gordon offered.
The bed did not take long to make. After the balsam boughs had been
laid in place, Veve went swimming with Eileen and Jane while the other
girls explored the woodland trails.
At noon, the Brownies trooped in, eager for the stew, hot biscuits and
canned peaches which Miss Gordon had ready for them.
“Camp is great when someone else does the cooking,” Jane sighed
blissfully. “I wish we could stay here forever.”
In the early afternoon the girls played games, loafed on the beach and
gathered stones. At three o’clock, Miss Gordon told Connie, Veve and
Rosemary it was time to start for Shady Hollow. She had made out a long
list of needed supplies.
“We should buy a water bucket also,” she remarked.
At Shady Hollow, the four separated, Miss Gordon and Rosemary going to
the grocery store, while Veve and Connie went on to the hardware to
purchase the water pail.
Now, directly behind the hardware store ran a railroad siding, but the
two girls did not notice this immediately.
Carefully they made their purchase of the bucket, paid for it, and left
the store.
Only then did Veve see the railroad tracks. A train with circus cars
stood on the siding. The engine did not appear to be hooked on.
“Why, it’s a circus!” she exclaimed. “It looks like _our_ circus!”
Veve meant that it appeared to be the same one the Brownies had
witnessed a week earlier at Rosedale.
“It does look like the same one,” Connie admitted in astonishment. “I
wonder if it is playing here?”
“Shady Hollow is too small a place. Probably it has pulled up on the
siding so another train can go by.”
Thinking that perhaps they might see Eva Leitsall or Jim Carsdale, the
girls cut through a vacant lot to the railroad tracks.
The Pullman cars were far up ahead. However, directly in front of them
was a gaudily painted box car, the door of which stood slightly ajar.
“Wonder what’s inside!” Veve speculated. “I think I’ll see.”
Upending the newly purchased bucket, she stood on it and peeped into
the car.
“Oh, Connie!” she exclaimed breathlessly. “Guess what? The golden coach
is in here!”
“The one we saw in the circus?”
“The very same. Oh, it’s beautiful, Connie. Raise me up higher.”
“I can’t,” said Connie. “Pull yourself up on the edge of the car. Then
you can see better.”
Veve swung herself to the edge of the circus car. She sat in the open
doorway, her feet swinging over the side.
“Now help me up,” Connie commanded. “I want to see too.”
Veve pulled her up and they both sat there gazing at the beautiful
golden coach.
“Maybe we shouldn’t sit here,” Connie said uneasily.
Now, neither she nor Veve once thought of being carried away by the
circus train. So far as they could tell, the engine was not even hooked
on. They knew too, they could jump to the ground any time they liked.
Veve scrambled to her feet the better to gaze at the golden coach.
“Let’s sit in it!” she proposed.
“Oh, no, Veve.”
“Just for a minute,” coaxed Veve. “Then we’ll meet Miss Gordon.” Before
Connie could stop her, she ran over to the coach. “Say, it has red
plush seats and everything. Do come see!”
Veve climbed into the coach and began to bounce up and down on the soft
cushions.
Connie, against her better judgment, decided it would do no harm to sit
in the coach for only a minute. She went over and climbed in beside
Veve.
“Wouldn’t it be fun to ride in the grand procession?” she asked, her
eyes shining.
“You play you’re the Queen,” proposed Veve. “I’ll drive the white
horses.” She scrambled up into the high box at the front of the coach.
Taking a long whip from its holder, she pretended to switch the horses.
But Connie felt very uneasy. “Veve, we must meet Miss Gordon,” she
reminded her friend.
“Oh, all right,” Veve agreed, replacing the whip.
Now the two girls had been so engrossed in inspecting the beautiful
coach, that they had failed to hear footsteps outside in the gravel.
Before they could climb out or say a word, the heavy door of the box
car was slammed shut.