Adirondack camp. You see, I am an ardent Boy Scout admirer, and every
summer I have a crowd of boys camp in the mountains with me. As I have
several thousand acres there, we won't interfere with you girls. In
fact, I have just been telling your Captain that I am going to write to
Headquarters and offer my place to the Girl Scouts for any number of
camps they may see fit to start. I can make it very comfortable for
them, as my workmen have cut good roads through the woods and many
trails are worn over the surrounding mountains. If you'll agree to
establish a flourishing Troop by next spring, I will agree to give you
the time of your life."
When Mr. Gilroy finished, the scouts were too delighted to speak for a
time. Then Julie sprang forward, and threw her arms about his waist. She
hugged him so unexpectedly, but withal so tightly, that he gasped for
breath. Every one laughed, as it expressed their sentiments exactly.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NEW MEMBERS
"Well, our friend is off! Now what can we do?" wailed Ruth, as the
scouts sat disconsolately about the fire.
"I wish we could camp in the Adirondacks this summer! We still have
August, you know," said Joan.
"Mr. Gilroy particularly mentioned _next_ season, and besides, you have
to become a registered Troop, before you can accept his invitation,"
hinted Mrs. Vernon.
"I should think we ought to hurry up and begin, then," suggested Julie.
"How can we? Those girls in Elmertown will all be away for their
vacations, and how can we find them?" grumbled Ruth.
"Mr. Gilroy said he had given orders in Freedom that any time we wanted
to take a trip about the country, we were to have the automobile he
rented that day for the hunt. He said that this would be his present to
you this summer because he would not be here personally to take you
about," said Mrs. Vernon.
"What did you say--did you refuse or accept?" asked Ruth.
"At first I said I didn't think he ought to pay for the drives, but he
silenced me with a look, and said: 'I have already paid for ten drives
in advance--so they must be used up.'"
"Hurrah! Then we can go for one to-morrow, can't we?" cried Joan.
"I have been planning where to go if we take a drive to-morrow,"
answered Mrs. Vernon.
"Why can't we go to Elmertown, first of all, and find out about the new
members. I don't want to postpone that until it is too late to teach
them anything. You see, we must get on in scoutdom, so we can visit Mr.
Gilroy's place next year," said Julie.
"That's what I wanted to suggest, Julie--that we drive home and find out
about new members," responded Mrs. Vernon.
So the grocer's order-man was told that afternoon to have the chauffeur
bring his car up to the crossing of the trail with the woodland road the
next morning, where his passengers would be waiting for him.
The following day was fair, so the scouts hurried with the camp-work and
then ran down the trail to wait for the car. They were soon on the road
to Elmertown, enjoying the smooth running of the car over the fine road;
after the rough mountain trails, and Hepsy's uncertain going, it was a
luxury.
Many stops were made in Elmertown, but of all the girls' homes visited
only five were available to join the scouts. Many were away on visits,
and a few were not allowed to consider joining a camp where escaped
convicts were caught behind the walls!
This last excuse caused such merriment from the scouts that severe
mothers wondered what there could be to laugh at in dangers such as they
ran while camping in the woods.
The five girls who were so eager to join the scouts, had the willing
consent and co-operation from their mothers. So Mrs. Vernon felt it was
much better to take girls whose parents appreciated the benefit of the
scout work, rather than to have girls whose mothers were waiting to
criticise or discourage their children in the undertaking.
When the five had been finally decided upon, the Captain notified them
that the car would call for them that day week, and they were to be
ready to return to camp.
"It will take you a week to prepare, girls, for you must write to New
York and secure a handbook for each, and not only read it, but study the
first rules in the book. We have been doing that since we went to camp,
so now you will have to catch up," said Mrs. Vernon.
"And rest assured we will give you some awful initiation tests before
you become full-fledged members!" threatened Julie.
The scouts and the "would-bes" laughed at this, for they knew the tests
would be funny ones that would amuse every one.
"Only pack sensible things, girls. Middy blouses, a pair of khaki
bloomers and a pair of blue serge ones. You'll need a serge dress, too,
and a heavy sweater. If you have a light-weight sweater, also, so much
the better," advised Mrs. Vernon.
The elated scouts-to-be eagerly promised everything, and then watched
the car drive away. But they felt no envy or regret for they would be
traveling the same road a week hence.
"Verny, maybe we ought to be glad we've got all the extra furniture
now," ventured Betty, as they climbed the familiar trail and passed by
the Royal Suite.
"That's so, Verny. We can let the new members furnish their hut with the
stuff," said Joan.
"Only they haven't any hut," Ruth added.
"They will have to build one, like we did, to pass a test in carpentry,"
remarked Julie.
"I think Betty's suggestion better than the one Ruth made last
night--that we chop up the furniture for kindlings," now spoke the
Captain.
"Well, I didn't really mean that, you know! I only said it when I had to
go and collect damp wood for the fire," admitted Ruth.
That evening as the scouts sat about the camp-fire, Mrs. Vernon
remarked: "I wonder if you girls realize how much you have already
improved in this one month of camp-life?"
They then began to compare notes.
"Julie isn't nearly as impulsive as she used to be," said Betty.
"But she still has enough left to find fault with," laughed the Captain.
"And Betty isn't so preachy as she was when we weeded dandelions on your
lawn," commented Ruth.
"Betty is beginning to have more confidence, too," added Julie, gazing
at her twin in a speculative way.
"What about me--how have I improved?" eagerly asked Joan, looking from
one to the other of her companions.
"You--oh, Joan, you are hopeless!" laughed Julie, whereupon Joan fell
upon her and they had a rough-and-tumble time on the grass.
"Thus endeth every serious lesson I try to teach," laughed Mrs. Vernon,
when the contestants came back to the fire.
"I say, scouts: can any one see the improvement in Verny?" now called
Julie, in rebuttal of the Captain's last words.
But the girls refused to testify, and then a new subject was introduced.
"I am sure I heard thunder just then."
"I thought I saw a flash a little time ago," added Joan.
"Maybe we had better get our things in under cover, then, and be ready
to go to bed if it rains," suggested the Captain.
Consequently a mad scurrying took place and the scouts were cozily
housed when the rain came down.
The next morning Mrs. Vernon said: "I have been waiting for spare time
to give you scouts a few lessons in first aid, but now that we expect
new members in the Patrol, it may be just as well to wait for them. Many
can learn as easily as a few individuals."
"Still, that need not keep us from having a few tests," replied Joan,
who looked for some fun in this practice.
"True; and if you have a little lesson now, you ought to be able to help
the new members when they come in," added Mrs. Vernon.
"All right--let's begin," said Julie.
"My first question will be: What would you do for first-aid in case of
accident?"
Julie giggled: "I'd take mighty good care not to have one! I call that
genuine first-aid."
The others laughed, and Mrs. Vernon said: "You are right of course,
Julie, but that is not what I mean. Because there are many people who
meet with accidents, who need aid at once. And there are nine-tenths of
the people who know nothing about rendering help properly. However,
during the last ten years, due a great deal to scout work, I believe,
the schools are taking up this work and teaching children just what to
do."
"We never had it in our school," said Betty.
"Maybe the town is too small to pay an instructor, but all city schools
teach first-aid, I'm sure," replied the Captain. "Now, girls, let us be
serious in this lesson.
"Drop your skirts and practice in your bloomers, as you can move about
easier that way."
The scouts did as they were told, and then Mrs. Vernon said: "We'll try
Betty first, as she is the lightest of you girls.
"Now let us pretend Betty went in swimming and was taken suddenly with
cramps. She sank. One of you saw her disappear and called on the others
for help. You ran to the water's edge and saw some one swim to shore
with her; no one but you scouts knew how to revive her, so you went
right to work to save her life.
"Now, Betty, stretch out on the grass just as you would if you had been
dragged in from the water in an unconscious state," advised Mrs. Vernon,
helping Betty to repose as she should.
The three scouts watching, giggled as this sort of work was fun. When
Betty was in the right position, Mrs. Vernon called:
"Now scouts, loosen her clothing as quick as possible--because every
second counts with her life.
"If she has on corsets, unhook them immediately that respiration may not
be retarded. If she has on a skirt with tight belt, or other
close-fitting garments that prevents circulation, undo them at once, or
even cut it open if it can be accomplished in no other way. Now she
ought to breathe. Tell me, can she draw her breath easily?"
"Can she! She's breathing so hard that I'm afraid she'll explode unless
she has a chance to laugh!" retorted Julie.
The scouts all laughed, but Mrs. Vernon remained serious, as she knew it
would never do to give Julie encouragement.
"Now then, empty her lungs of water by laying her, breast downwards, and
holding her up by the middle. Julie and Joan do that."
Betty was very ticklish, and the moment Julie took hold of her sides,
she squirmed and giggled. Julie tried to be severe.
"Teacher, this drowned scout won't let me get a good grip on her side. I
fear she will have to expire unless she rolls over at once."
Even Mrs. Vernon had to laugh at Julie, and Betty said: "Well, I'll roll
over, if you'll make Julie stop tickling me."
Obliging little Betty then rolled over face downwards, but in a second
she was up on her feet, squealing and shaking herself. Every one was
surprised, and Julie said aggrievedly:
"Now what's the matter?"
"Oh, I saw a nasty fat spider running in the grass right under my nose!
I wish some one else would drown for me, Verny."
The girls laughed, and Julie added: "It's bad enough to have you get
cramps and drown without inviting us to follow suit!"
"Here, Betty, get down in this short grass where there will be no plump
little spiders," advised the Captain.
Betty complied, and then the two aids again took their places beside
her.
"Now we will begin again. Take Betty by the middle, girls, and allow her
head to hang down for a few moments to take the water out of her lungs."
This lesson was done well, then Mrs. Vernon said:
"Now turn the patient face downward on her breast and give artificial
respiration."
"Explain, Verny--that long word is too much for me," said Julie.
"You press the lower ribs down and forward towards the head, then
release. Repeat this action twelve times to every minute."
Now Julie and Joan worked with a will, and Betty found herself revived
far enough to object to their energetic treatment. She had had five
respirations administered, and her first-aids were giving the sixth,
when Betty kicked out with her heels and tripped Joan over upon her
face.
"My! This dead one came to mighty quick, Verny. We must be powerful good
treaters," laughed Julie.
"Scouts, I am sure Betty is well along the road to recovery, so we can
go on to the next lesson," laughed Mrs. Vernon.
"The next thing to do, is to place heated bottles of water at Betty's
feet, and rub her arms and legs briskly, but be sure to always rub
towards the heart," said the Captain.
"Must I have more treatment?" asked Betty, plaintively.
"Sure! You're not all alive yet," laughed Ruth.
Julie and Joan began rubbing as they had been told, but Betty suddenly
sat up and said: "Last night you said I was becoming more
self-confident! All right, now I am so confident that you two girls are
each going to get a big kick, that you'd better get out of my
way--quick!"
"Scouts, don't give up," called Mrs. Vernon, laughingly. "Betty is doing
fine, so you must not stop such treatment."
"Then you come here and take my place," said Joan, who dodged the kick
too often for comfort's sake.
"But she must be put in a warm bed, and give her hot drinks, you know.
With plenty of fresh air, I trust she will be as well as ever," said
Mrs. Vernon.
But Betty had managed to kick both her nurses and that ended the lesson.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE SCOUTS MEET JOHN DUNSTAN
The following day while the scouts were washing the dinner dishes, a
young man came across the plateau. He was dressed in nice clothes and
wore a straw sailor hat. As he neared the camp, he lifted his hat and
smiled.
"Why--it's the hunter!" cried Julie, dropping the dish-mop and drying her
hands on her apron.
"So it is--where is Verny!" added Joan.
"Didn't you know me, ladies?" asked the visitor.
"You looked so different the other day in your hunting clothes," said
Julie, smiling graciously.
Ruth and Betty had gone to find the Captain, and now they came back with
her.
"This is John Dunstan, Verny," said Betty, simply.
The young man was invited to sit down with them, and being a genuine son
of Nature, he felt quite at ease anywhere, so he began to chat with Mrs.
Vernon.
[Illustration: _He sat down and began to chat with Mrs. Vernon_]
"Granny told me about the scouts calling on her," said he, showing how
much he appreciated the visit.
"Yes, and we are going again, as we enjoyed our first one so much," said
the Captain.
"She says you had a son in the aviation field 'over there,'" continued
John.
"Yes, and I do so want to talk with you about that; but first, let me
ask you if you knew of those convicts being at large in the woods the
last time you were here to help the scouts finish the roof?"
"That was why I wanted to see you," said John. "I had reason to
_believe_ that two tramps were somewhere about this mountain, and I
feared they might start for the village. If they did, they would come
across this camp, and I didn't like to think they might annoy the
scouts."
"You didn't know they were convicts, then?" said Julie.
"If I had, do you suppose I would have allowed you girls to win the
honor of catching them? I would have taken them myself."
"How could you--all alone?" said Joan.
"The same way I rounded up five Huns when they shot down my plane on
their side of the battle-line. I managed to get them, too, and marched
them across No Man's Land at night, and brought them in prisoners to our
Captain."
"Oh, oh! tell us all about it?" entreated the girls.
"Some other time, scouts, but now I want to answer this lady's
questions," said John, laughingly.
"Only tell us this much--is that what you got the medal for?" begged
Julie.
"That, and one other trick I turned," said John, without any sign of
self-importance.
"My boy enlisted before the United States entered the war," began Mrs.
Vernon. "Because we had no air service, he entered the Royal Flying
Corps in Canada. He was with them until we declared war on Germany, then
he wanted to fight under his own Flag. It was in his first battle as an
American Flyer that he was shot down."
"I was with the Royal Flying Corps, too, at first. But I didn't get your
name, Captain, so I really do not know the name of your son," said John.
"Oh, don't you know my name--it is Vernon; and my boy's name was Myles
Vernon. He was a Lieutenant in the Lafayette Escadrille."
"Why--Mrs. Vernon! Myles and I were flying and fighting together when he
was shot down! That is the very battle I was just telling of, when I
bluffed the Germans into such fear that they gave up and marched across
to the American lines as my prisoners."
"Oh, oh, really! How happy I am to find some one who saw him at the
last. Do tell me all you know, my boy, for we had very little
information to console us."
John then told how bravely Myles fought and how he had shot down three
planes of the enemy before they got him.
"I saw his plane burst into flames but he managed to get into his
parachute and cut loose. Then as he dropped nearer the earth, a machine
gun riddled the parachute and he fell.
"I know he met death instantaneously, for I fell very near the same
place, and saw his body immediately afterwards. I was handed the
personal effects he had with him, and had charge of them while I spoke
to the interpreter who took down the name and address. Then I had to
give them over to their authorities.
"Mrs. Vernon, I saw the Germans place his body on a bier and carry it
away to a house removed from the line of battle. And some weeks later, I
visited the lovely little farm where he is buried. It is cared for by a
mother who lost three sons for France, and now she takes the greatest
joy in caring for the flowers she has planted on American Boys' graves.
"I can tell you of many valiant battles Myles Vernon fought, before he
was killed in that one. I saw several of these fights myself, and my
friends told me of others--when they heard Myles was gone."
"Oh, I am so happy to hear this. I feel as if you are the direct answer
to prayers. Long have I desired to hear about my boy from some one who
knew the facts!" cried Mrs. Vernon, with eyes streaming.
"But were you not injured when your plane fell that day?" asked Julie,
eagerly.
"By some strange freak, the wings caught in a giant tree and stuck
there. The upper branches were broken and hung down from the impact, but
the lower boughs and trunk stood up firmly beneath the terrific jar. I
was so shaken up that they thought my neck was broken, and I pretended
to be a great deal worse than I was, because I believed I could find a
way to escape.
"They left me with the doctor and a few nurses, and when it was learned
that I was partly recovered I had to help them. It was the freedom
accorded any one who assists in looking after the sick prisoners that
opened a way for my escape."
The scouts were so anxious to hear all about his experiences that he
entertained them the greater part of the afternoon. When he finally
stood up to go home, he was begged to come again very soon.
"I will tell Granny that you expect to come up and call on her again?"
said he, shaking hands with Mrs. Vernon.
"Yes, but be sure and come down to see us soon, won't you?" said she.
John left, and Mrs. Vernon excused herself for a time. She went in the
old hut, and Julie leaned over to whisper: "Now she'll go and cry
herself to pieces!"
"No, Julie, I think she is going to pray out her thanks to God for His
mercy in sending her such glorious news of her boy," returned Betty,
gently.
And Betty was right. For when the Captain returned to the scouts, her
face was shining with a radiance that seldom was seen on her face.
"Girls, where shall we have the new members build their hut?" asked she,
as if nothing had ever caused her to think of aught but the scouts and
their work.
"Why not move Hepsy's shed along and have them use that site for their
house?" suggested Joan.
After much planning and arguing, it was decided that the new members
could choose their own site and choice of building. "They may prefer to
live in a tent--for all we know," said Ruth.
The four scouts worked hard all that week to present as fine a camp as
could be found to the new members, and when the five girls drove up in
the car to taste the joys of a scout camp, they were duly impressed with
the order and neatness of everything about the camp.
How these nine girls formed a Troop of splendid Girl Scouts, how they
won badges for prowess in many tests and trials, and how they were the
envy of all the school-girls in Elmertown, is too long a tale to tell
here.
But this much can be said: The reward for the $1000 was paid over to the
scouts, and the Captain placed it in the Bank of Freedom, to the account
of "Girls of Dandelion Patrol." That was the beginning of their savings
to pay expenses of a Camp in the Adirondacks the following season.
And how they finally went to the much-longed-for camp where Mr. Gilroy
welcomed them for a whole summer's visit, is told in the second volume
of the Girl Scouts Mountain series, called "Dandelion Troop in the
Adirondacks."
_This Isn't All!_
Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in
this book?
Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and
experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author?
On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you
will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same
store where you got this book.
_Don't throw away the Wrapper_
_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. But
in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete
catalog._
GIRL SCOUTS SERIES
By LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY
Author of the "Polly Brewster Books"
Handsomely Bound. Colored Wrappers. Illustrated Each Volume Complete in
Itself.
Here is a series that holds the same position for girls that the Tom
Slade and Roy Blakeley books hold for boys. They are delightful stories
of Girl Scout camp life amid beautiful surroundings and are filled with
stirring adventures.
GIRL SCOUTS AT DANDELION CAMP
This is a story which centers around the making and the enjoying of a
mountain camp, spiced with the fun of a lively troop of Girl Scouts. The
charm of living in the woods, of learning woodcraft of all sorts, of
adventuring into the unknown, combine to make a busy and an exciting
summer for the girls.
GIRL SCOUTS IN THE ADIRONDACKS
New scenery, new problems of camping, association with a neighboring
camp of Boy Scouts, and a long canoe trip with them through the Fulton
Chain, all in the setting of the marvelous Adirondacks, bring to the
girls enlargement of horizon, new development, and new joys.
GIRL SCOUTS IN THE ROCKIES
On horseback from Denver through Estes Park as far as the Continental
Divide, climbing peaks, riding wild trails, canoeing through canyons,
shooting rapids, encountering a landslide, a summer blizzard, a sand
storm, wild animals, and forest fires, the girls pack the days full with
unforgettable experiences.
GIRL SCOUTS IN ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO
The Girl Scouts visit the mountains and deserts of Arizona and New
Mexico. They travel over the old Santa Fe Trail, cross the Painted
Desert, and visit the Grand Canyon. Their exciting adventures form a
most interesting story.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
THE LILIAN GARIS BOOKS
Attractively Bound. Illustrated. Individual Colored Wrappers. Every
Volume Complete in Itself.
Lilian Garis is one of the writers who always wrote. She expressed
herself in verse from early school days and it was then predicted that
Lilian Mack would one day become a writer. Justifying this sentiment,
while still at high school, she took charge of the woman's page for a
city paper and her work there attracted such favorable attention that
she left school to take entire charge of woman's work for the largest
daily in an important Eastern city.
Mrs. Garis turned to girls' books directly after her marriage, and of
these she has written many. She believes in girls, studies them and
depicts them with pen both skilled and sympathetic.
GLORIA: A GIRL AND HER DAD
GLORIA AT BOARDING SCHOOL
JOAN: JUST GIRL
JOAN'S GARDEN OF ADVENTURE
CONNIE LORING'S AMBITION
CONNIE LORING'S DILEMMA
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
AMY BELL MARLOWE'S BOOKS FOR GIRLS
Charming, Fresh and Original Stories
Illustrated. Wrappers printed in colors with individual design for each
story
Miss Marlowe's books for girls are somewhat of the type of Miss Alcott
and also Mrs. Meade; but all are thoroughly up-to-date and wholly
American in scene and action. Good, clean absorbing tales that all girls
thoroughly enjoy.
THE OLDEST OF FOUR; Or, Natalie's Way Out.
A sweet story of the struggles of a live girl to keep a family from
want.
THE GIRLS AT HILLCREST FARM; Or, The Secret of the Rocks.
Relating the trials of two girls who take boarders on an old farm.
A LITTLE MISS NOBODY; Or, With the Girls of Pinewood Hall.