OFF TO MOUNT MAJOR
“Did you see that, Ted? Did you see where Trouble went?” cried Janet.
“Yes, I saw him fall, but I don’t know where he went,” Ted answered. “I
guess he’s down in a hole.”
“Oh, maybe there’s water in it and he’ll drown!” went on Janet.
“There isn’t any water here now,” said Ted.
And it was a good thing the gully had gone dry, for Trouble had fallen
into a hole that was filled with deep water when the stream was rushing
through the gully. But, as Ted remarked, it was now dry.
For a moment after his tumble Trouble uttered no sound. And then he
yelled:
“Come an’ get me! Come an’ get me out, Ted!”
[Illustration: “YES, I HERE,” WAS THE REPLY. “DON’T SCARE MY SQUIRREL!”
“The Curlytops in the Woods.” Page 50]
“I’m coming!” answered the older boy. “Don’t be afraid, Trouble! I’m
coming!”
By the time Janet reached the edge of the leaf-filled hole into which
Trouble had fallen, Teddy had pulled out his little brother. Trouble
was not much hurt, being only bruised, but he was covered with leaves
and dirt.
“There, there, William, you’re all right,” soothed Ted.
“Don’t cry!” begged Janet. “We’ll take you to the store and buy you a
lollypop.”
Trouble rubbed his tears away, but in doing so wiped a lot of dirt from
his hands all over his face so that he was quite a sad looking sight.
However, Janet cleaned him up as best she could with her handkerchief.
“Now you’re as good as ever,” laughed Ted, as he picked off the dead
leaves clinging to his small brother. “What were you doing down there,
anyhow?”
“I wanted to get squirrel an’ have him show me where crow is,”
explained Trouble.
Of course he didn’t get near the squirrel, and, even if he had given
the big-tailed creature the nut, the squirrel would not have eaten it,
as it was wormy and had no kernel in it.
“But maybe to-morrow I find another nut an’ I give that to squirrel an’
he find Jim crow,” said Trouble, as he walked home with Ted and Janet.
“It’s too early for this year’s nuts,” said Ted. “Anyhow, we have to
pack up our things to go to Mount Major.”
“Oh, yes, I go to woods!” laughed Trouble. “An’ I take my fire engine
an’ squirt on fire.”
They reached home and told their mother about the little adventure. She
warned Trouble he mustn’t do such a thing again as wandering off by
himself.
“No’m, I won’t!” Trouble promised.
“But if he doesn’t do that he’ll do something else just as
troublesome,” said Janet, with a sigh. And Trouble did.
These were busy days in the home of the Curlytops. Mr. Martin had much
to do to get matters straightened out about his smoke-harmed store, and
he had also to get ready to go to the lumber camp in the woods to start
the supply store there. Mrs. Martin must pack the things that were to
be taken for a long vacation stay--she must see to the clothing for
herself and the three children. The food supplies Mr. Martin would
look after, as he had to ship up several cars of groceries to stock the
lumber supply store.
Lucy, the colored cook, was to be taken along. Once, though, after they
had talked over the joys of camping in the woods, Lucy came in where
Mr. and Mrs. Martin were sitting, after the children had gone to bed,
and said:
“Please, ma’am, Mrs. Martin, Ah doan t’ink Ah’d bettah go off to de
woods wif yo’ all.”
“Why not, Lucy?” asked Mrs. Martin, in surprise. “I have been counting
on you.”
“Yais, ma’am,” went on Lucy. “But, all de same, Mrs. Martin, Ah’s
kinder skairt ob dem jinkses.”
“Jinkses! What do you mean?” asked Mr. Martin.
“Why, Teddy he done tole me dat de woods am filled an’ runnin’ ober wif
jinkses. Dey’s animiles wif curtain tassles on der ears. Ah doan t’ink
Ah’d laik ’em much, Mrs. Martin, ma’am!”
“Nonsense!” laughed Mr. Martin. “Teddy must have been talking about
the lynx, or bobcat. They do have tassels, or tufts, of hair on their
ears, but they won’t hurt you, Lucy!”
“No? Won’t dey, Mistah Martin?” she asked anxiously.
“No, indeed, Lucy. Ted shouldn’t have spoken of the bobcats in the
woods. I don’t believe we’ll see one. But if you should, Lucy, the lynx
would run as soon as it saw you.”
“Golly! He wouldn’t done run any faster dan Ah would!” chuckled the
cook. “All right. Den Ah guess Ah goes!”
This much settled, there were other matters to be looked after before
the trip to Mount Major could be started. As Mr. Martin had thought,
the settlement of his fire loss by the insurance company would take
some time. During that time his store would be in charge of a trusted
man whose name was Henderson, and he could thus well afford to go to
the lumber camp.
The Curlytops and Trouble were so excited over the prospect of fun in
the lumber camp that nothing they played around their home now, and no
sports that they took part in with their playmates, seemed to satisfy
them. They were always thinking of what they would do at Mount Major,
and planning picnics and excursions there.
“I’m going to set a trap and see if I can’t catch a lynx,” declared Ted.
“Well, don’t scare Lucy any more, no matter what you do,” begged his
mother. “First I know, she’ll leave and then we’ll have no cook.”
“I’ll be careful,” promised Ted.
Janet had packed her dolls, Teddy his toys, and Trouble had filled a
box with odds and ends of things he wanted to take to the woods. But
afterward Mrs. Martin went over all the children’s boxes and took out a
great many things without telling them about it.
“They’ll never miss them,” she said to her husband. “But if I let them
take all they wanted there would be no room for anything else.”
“Yes, they have queer ideas,” he agreed. “I don’t suppose you found
your diamond locket?” he asked.
“No,” his wife replied, with a sigh. “I have given it up. I don’t say
much about it, for I don’t want Janet to feel too bad about losing
it. As I should never have let her take it, it is as much my fault as
hers.”
The trip to Mount Major was to be made, as I have told you, in Mr.
Martin’s large automobile. In this would also be carried the baggage
and some food and supplies that would last the party until the things
sent by express had arrived from Cresco.
It was a long day’s travel by automobile from Cresco to Mount Major,
and so Mr. Martin planned to get an early morning start on the day that
was set for the trip.
“We will have an early breakfast here,” said Mr. Martin. “We will lunch
on the road. And if we have luck we’ll have supper in our bungalow in
the woods.”
“Oh, I just know we’ll have the loveliest fun!” cried Janet.
“That’s right!” agreed Ted.
“An’ maybe I find Jim crow,” said Trouble.
So far no trace had been found of the missing lame bird pet of Mr.
Jenk. Jim seemed to have disappeared. Once or twice he had flown away,
to be gone perhaps a day or so, but he had never remained away as long
as this before, his owner declared.
The Curlytops and other children of the neighborhood had searched
through the near-by woods and fields for Jim, but had not heard his
harsh cawing cry nor had they heard him “pull corks.” And of course no
one had seen him stand on one leg, with the other stuck stiffly out and
his head, with his sharp, beady eyes, thrust to one side.
Jim was not to be found, and Mr. Jenk felt sorry to lose the crow. He
even published a notice in the Cresco paper about Jim, offering now a
reward of ten dollars for the return of his pet.
“If I find the crow I’ll give you half the reward,” promised Ted to his
sister.
“And if I find him I’ll give you half,” she added. “If I get the five
dollars I’ll buy me a new doll carriage.”
“And I’ll get roller skates, a steam engine, a foot ball, some ice
skates and a baseball bat,” decided Ted.
“My!” laughed his father, “you must think the five dollars are going to
be rubber ones that will stretch out enough to buy a whole store full
of toys.”
“Well, I can get something, anyhow!” declared Ted.
“First find the crow,” his father told him.
Teddy and Janet made up their minds they would spend all the remainder
of the time before leaving for Mount Major looking for Jim. This they
did, but without result. Jim remained lost.
Then came the glad day on which they were to start. As much as possible
had been packed into the automobile which was roomy. And then in piled
Mr. and Mrs. Martin, taking Trouble on the front seat with them, while
Ted, Janet and Lucy rode on the rear seat.
“I’ll take care of you, Lucy, if any bobcats come after you,” promised
Teddy.
“Har! Har!” laughed fat Lucy. “Ah ain’t skairt ob no bobcats no mo’.
Yo’ papa done told me ’bout ’em! Ah ain’t skairt! Har! Har!”
Off they started, the Curlytops and Trouble waving their hands to their
playmates who gathered to bid them good-bye and wish them a happy
summer in the woods.
Mr. Martin drove around past his store, for he wanted to leave a last
word with Mr. Henderson, who was in charge, and the children could see
where carpenters were at work repairing the burned shed, for there had
been some slight damage there, it was later discovered.
On through the town, out into the beautiful country, rolled the
automobile, with Ted and Janet now and then breaking out into short
snatches of song to show how happy they were.
They stopped for lunch along a beautiful road that led through the
woods, and after eating they walked around to “stretch their legs,” as
Mr. Martin called it.
“But we must not delay too long,” said daddy, after a while. “We have a
long way yet to go, and I don’t want to arrive after dark. Better pile
in, Curlytops!”
Once more the automobile was filled. Mr. Martin started the motor and
let in the clutch. But something was wrong. The car moved a little way
and then came to a stop with a jerk. The engine stalled.
“What’s wrong?” asked Mrs. Martin.
“I don’t know,” her husband answered. “Maybe I didn’t give her enough
gas.”
Once more he started off, but this time there was a sudden stop,
followed by a crashing, splintering sound.
“Oh, we’re pulling a tree down behind us!” cried Janet. “Stop, Daddy!”