LETTY'S SURPRISE
"My! doesn't this bacon taste delicious!" exclaimed Mary Lee, the next
morning as the Campfire Girls were gathered for breakfast in the mess
tent.
"And this corn bread and the cantaloupe," added Letty. "That early
plunge surely gives one a great appetite, doesn't it?"
"Yes, indeed, but don't eat so slow. Remember we have to wash our
dishes and clear up our own tents before we can do what we like."
"That's so," said Mary Lee, "see, some of the girls are through
already."
As each girl finished, she gathered up her own dishes, walked to the
end of the big table and washed and rinsed them in the big pans,
placed there for that purpose.
After breakfast the tents were put in order, and when everything was
ready the guardian inspected them all, to see which tent should be
awarded first honors for the day.
The Guardian was about to select the tent in which Letty's cousin Edna
slept when she discovered a hair pin sticking up between the boards in
front of the tent.
"My, isn't she a strict Campfire Guardian?" whispered Edith to Letty.
"I should say so! Weren't we lucky to have Aunt Madge for our
Guardian?" said Letty, "instead of one like her?"
Cousin Edna came up just then to tell the girls that she wanted them
to come over and meet her friend Josephine.
"She's the dearest little French girl. Her father was killed two years
ago over in France. Immediately afterwards she and her mother came to
this country to raise funds for the French Red Cross. The mother can't
think of anything but the war. She's a regular fanatic on the subject.
She gives lectures around at the houses of the 'four hundred' and has
made no end of big money for the good cause."
"But how did the daughter get to be a Campfire Girl?" asked Edith.
"The Guardian of our camp met her several times at lectures and felt
sorry for her. She seemed to be growing melancholy from so much war
talk. She never went anywhere except with her mother, so our Guardian
took her under her wing, asked her to join our camp and now she's the
favorite everywhere. She's getting her color back and is almost jolly
at times."
"I suppose she can tell blood-curdling stories about the war scenes
she saw before coming to this country."
"Yes, indeed; but we try to get her mind off the war because it has
such a depressing effect on her. But she can tell you the most
fascinating things about 'gay Paree' before the war. Her father was a
member of President Poincaire's cabinet before he enlisted, and she
used to attend all the state balls at the Elysee Palace."
"How thrilling!" exclaimed Letty. "Do introduce us."
"Isn't she a perfect darling?" whispered Edith to Mary Lee, after the
introduction was over.
The girls then passed a delightful hour, playing their ukuleles and
telling stories.
At eleven o'clock all went down to the beach for a swim. What fun they
had diving from the spring board and learning the "Australian Crawl."
After dinner they had rest-hour till 2:30. They had to keep pretty
quiet, so our three "hikers," Cousin Edna and the French girl decided
to sit outside their tent and read.
"But whatever shall we read?" asked Letty.
"We have some books here," said Cousin Edna, rummaging around in an
empty soap box, which stood on end, and took the place of a wash-stand
in the tent.
"How are these titles: 'Woodland Nymphs,' 'Oh Jerry, Be Careful,' 'Mr.
Ripling Sees it Too,' 'The Baby and the Bachelor'?"
"That's the one," cried all the girls in chorus as the last title was
called out.
The book proved to be an interesting one. In fact, it made them laugh
so, that it was not long before the Guardian came to hush them up and
to remind them that it was "rest hour."
"Are we going to have our beach supper tonight?" asked Cousin Edna.
"Yes, and if you like," replied the Guardian, "we can take our
blankets and sleep all night on the beach."
"Lovely," cried all the girls at once. "Let's get ready at once, shall
we?"
Soon the picnic basket was packed and off they started to a pretty
point two miles down the sandy beach.
The first thing they did upon arriving was to gather enough wood to
make a fire.
Then they hunted up a large clean-looking stone and put it in the fire
to heat.
While this was heating some of the girls gathered long blades of
strong grass and wove two mats the size of the top of the stone.
As soon as the stone was heated, they pulled it out of the fire and
dug a big hole in the sand in which they placed it. Around and over it
they put hot ashes. They had brought a supply of nice fresh fish
already cleaned and seasoned. These they placed between the grass
mats and then covered the mats over with more ashes.
"Do you mean to say that the fish will cook like that?" asked Mary
Lee.
"Indeed they will," said Cousin Edna, "and they will be so delicious
you will wish you could have them cooked like that all the time."
"How long will it take to cook them that way?" asked Letty.
"About an hour," replied Cousin Edna. "In the meantime, we can all
gather wood for our big fire tonight. We are going to roast corn and
toast marshmallows this evening."
"We have a lot of wood already," said Letty. "See the big pile over
there!"
"Bless you, child, that's nothing. We have to have enough to keep the
fire going all night."
"All night?" exclaimed Edith. "Whoever has to sit up and tend it all
night? I'd certainly hate that job."
"Oh, no one has to tend the fire _all_ night. A number of us are
chosen and each one has to keep watch an hour at a time," explained
Cousin Edna.
"It must be hard to sit up a whole hour; I'm sure I'd go off to
sleep," said Letty.
"You can doze if you like, but you have to keep one eye on the fire.
You see, it gets very chilly on the beach before morning and the fire
helps a lot. Besides, it keeps away the mosquitoes."
What a delicious beach supper they had and what a delightful evening
they passed afterwards, telling stories, etc.
When nine o'clock came each girl put on her sweater and rolled herself
in her blanket.
"Here's where I sleep," said Letty, throwing herself down on the beach
and piling sand into a heap for a pillow.
"Good idea," said Edith, "let's all make pillows out of sand."
The night on the beach proved to be a delightful one, to all but one
of the girls. She woke up next morning with a stiff neck from sleeping
in a cramped position, and could not go in bathing.
Thanks, however, to Mary Lee's training under Dr. Payson, and her Red
Cross first aid lessons, she knew just how to massage the girl's neck
and thus relieved the pain in a short time.
After bathing, the girls all walked back to camp, where the cook had
prepared a good substantial breakfast for them. They then passed the
day quietly as it was Sunday. Late that afternoon, Letty, Mary Lee and
Edith said good-bye and started on their homeward journey.
"Wasn't it a delightful trip?" said Mary Lee, as they finally reached
the railroad station.
"Just splendid," answered the two other girls in one breath.
"I have some good news for you, too," said Letty.
"Oh, don't keep us in suspense," cried Edith.
"I have invited Cousin Edna and her little French friend Josephine to
come and spend a week with us when we go up to our log cabin in the
Catskills in July," said Letty. "Mother said I could invite a party of
girls for a week, before she begins to fill the house with her
company. You see, there will be five of us."
"Oh, Letty, you darling," cried Edith, leaning over and giving her a
hug.
"That's the best plan of any," said Mary Lee. "I'd love to go if you
will let me devote a part of the time to making those 'housewives'
that we have to make. You know, Uncle Sam only provides one housewife
for each four soldiers and that is not enough. Each soldier must have
his own."
"Indeed he should," said Letty. "Now that brother Ted's number was
chosen in the draft, I am going to get right down to serious work and
do everything I can to help. We can devote a certain part of each day
to our Red Cross work and in that way set a good example to all the
nearby summer colonies. You ought to see the quantity of yarn that
mother is laying away to take up there for knitting wristlets and
scarves."
"It won't be like work up there, either," said Mary Lee. "I've heard
it's just wonderful up in the Catskill mountains."
"It is," answered Letty, "and our cabin is immense. It has a porch
screened in on three sides, a wonderful fireplace, and the most
fragrant pillows of pine needles. You'll just love it, I know."
"Here we are at the station, already," cried Edith. "After we ferry
over, let's take a taxi up home. It's Sunday, you know, and I'd hate
to meet anyone in these togs."
"I don't particularly care about how we look, but a taxi would be just
the thing," exclaimed Letty. "I'm beginning to feel tired."
"The next few weeks of school won't drag a particle," said Edith, "now
that we have our mountain trip to look forward to."
"Indeed not, thanks to Letty," said Mary Lee, giving her hand an
affectionate squeeze.