Mrs. James and Natalie had engaged Amity to call for them and drive them
to the station to meet Janet, and when the expected visitor arrived
there was a great display of delight on Natalie's part. All the way from
the train to the farm the two girls were eagerly exchanging personal
experiences since they had parted in the city.
"Say, Nat," began Janet, when a lull in confidences gave her time to
remember other things, "Mr. Marvin told Dad that you had started a
vegetable garden all by yourself! Is that so?"
Natalie smiled joyously. "Yes, and this morning I found my first tiny
green spears above ground, Janet! It is lettuce!"
Janet laughed. "You are the last one on earth that I expected to take to
truck-farming."
"But it is the most fun, Janet! I wouldn't get half as much
entertainment out of travelling or motoring as I am having from my
garden."
The moment the girls arrived at the house, therefore, Natalie insisted
upon Janet's going to her garden to see the tiny greens that were the
result of the seed-planting.
"Why, look at the fine things growing in those other beds!" exclaimed
Janet, allowing her gaze to wander from the place where the almost
imperceptible green was showing above the ground.
"Oh yes,--those are tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, cabbages, and other
things. But these particular beds are my very own work, so I feel a
great joy in them."
"Aren't the others yours, too?" asked Janet.
"Yes, but the plants were given me by Farmer Ames. He threw some out of
his own gardens because they were too crowded for the best results. I
planted them, but I did not _raise_ them from seeds. My baby plants here
are all my very own!"
Janet laughed. She understood just how Natalie felt. It was the result
of all her own endeavor--these tiny seedlings.
"Well," said she, after admiring the garden beds to Natalie's utmost
expectations, "I can't see what there is left for me to do, if you have
succeeded in your farming so soon."
"I have been thinking of something for you to do, Janet. We've got all
those barn buildings, but they are empty. If only you could keep
chickens and a pig,--wouldn't that be great?" said Natalie eagerly.
Janet laughed aloud. "Turn me into a stock farmer? I never thought of
it, but now that you present the idea, it surely sounds fascinating.
Can't you see me currying the horses, and milking cows, or chasing a pig
around the farm?"
"I am in earnest, Jan! You can easily keep chickens and sell eggs. As
for a pig--why, Mr. Ames's brother wants to sell a few of a litter he
has at his farm. They are the cutest little things I ever saw. You'll
want to own one when you see them."
Janet laughed again, as Natalie's suggestion was so foreign to anything
she had thought of. Not that it was unacceptable, however. The more she
thought of the plan, the more it appealed to her as being worth while
trying out.
That evening Mrs. James sat with the two girls talking over the plan of
keeping chickens and other farmyard stock.
"I can manage the initial investment all right, from my allowance that I
have saved up, but how do I know that the poor creatures will not die or
get sick under my management?" said Janet laughingly.
"We've got Mr. Ames near at hand, if a chicken gets the pip,--that is
what they get more than anything else, I've learned," said Natalie.
Both her hearers laughed hilariously at her remark, and Janet finally
said: "Well, I just think I'll experiment for fun! Where can I buy some
chickens?"
"Oh, any farmer will sell you a hen," returned Natalie.
"But I want more than one hen," said Janet.
"You'll have to raise them yourself, just as I am raising vegetables
from seeds. You get a hen, put some eggs in a nest and make her sit upon
them. In three weeks you'll have all the young chicks you want to start
with," explained Natalie.
"It's too bad to-morrow is Sunday, or I'd go over to Farmer Ames in the
morning and see about hens and a pig," said Janet regretfully.
"We're all invited to go to the Scout camp to spend the day to-morrow.
But you and I will start for Ames's early Monday," replied Natalie
eagerly.
So it was decided, after several hours' serious talk, that Janet should
venture to raise chickens and keep a pig.
The next day was very pleasant, and being Sunday, Mrs. James permitted
the two girls to sleep an hour longer than was the daily custom. When
they were through with breakfast, and had visited the gardens to see if
any fresh spears of green had made an appearance since the previous
evening, they all started for the Scout camp.
"Yoh-all go on ahead, an' I'll be along affer-while. I'se goin' to tote
along a pan of hot biskits fer the club," said Rachel.
"All right, then we'll warn the cook that she need not worry about Scout
bread for dinner," laughed Mrs. James.
Janet was curious to visit the camp and see what a lot of Girl Scouts
did with themselves. Natalie had told her about Miss Mason's proposal to
interest some of the Greenville girls, that, with the five who would
live on the farm that summer, they might organize a second Patrol, and
the two Patrols could then apply for a Troop charter.
The Sunday visit proved to be very interesting and satisfactory, for
both girls saw how much the Scouts could do that they had never dreamed
of before. The Sunday dinner that was prepared and served by these girls
was delicious, and everything in camp was conducted according to Scout
rules. When Mrs. James and her two charges were ready to start for the
house, both Natalie and Janet were enthused with the ambition to launch
a campaign for a second Patrol without delay.
[Illustration: The dinner that was prepared and served by these girls
was delicious.]
On the walk back home Natalie said: "We ought to write the girls to get
a Scout book for themselves, and then come to Green Hill as soon as
possible. We need them to go around and talk up the Scout idea with
girls about here."
"I wish to goodness Helene was old enough to be a Girl Scout. That would
give us six girls, instead of five," said Janet.
"Helene can be a Scoutlet--because she is under twelve--but I am not
sure that that would count in our Patrol," said Mrs. James.
That night a letter was written to each of the three girls remaining in
New York, telling them to go straightway to Headquarters and secure a
copy of "Scouting for Girls," the handbook that is necessary for a Scout
to read and apply. Also the three girls were urged to pack up and come
to the farm without losing any more valuable time. But no mention was
made of the reason why this request was urged.
Natalie was up an hour before breakfast on Monday and hurried to her
garden to see what had grown since the day before. To her great surprise
and joy, she found the corn had sprung up an inch above ground since she
had visited her beloved gardens the day previous. So excited was she
that she raced back to the house, shouting as soon as she came within
call:
"Jimmy! Jimmy! My corn's all up! Way up, so'se you can see the blades!"
Rachel hurried out of the door to learn what had happened, and when she
heard the corn had sprouted and caused all the commotion, she laughed
and shook her fat form in amusement.
Mrs. James and Janet were most sympathetic, and hurried with Natalie to
the bed. Sure enough! The green blades were bravely holding up their
pointed green heads as if to bless their young planter.
"That's because yesterday was such a hot day, and the night was damp and
dewy," remarked Mrs. James.
By this time Natalie had gone to her other vegetable beds, and now
called out: "Oh, oh! The beets and beans are up, too!"
To the great delight of the farmerette, it was found that all the shoots
had now broken through the soil and tiny green heads were showing in
neat rows wherever Natalie had planted seeds. This was very encouraging,
and the three returned to the house for breakfast in an exalted frame of
mind.
"I don't s'pose there is anything more I can do to-day to hurry them
along, is there?" Natalie wondered aloud, as they finished breakfast and
were discussing the wonders of a vegetable garden.
Mrs. James laughed. "No, I should advise you to start out as Janet and
you planned, to interest girls in a Scout Patrol to-day. By permitting
the vegetables to grow unwatched, they will surprise you the more.
Perhaps the corn found courage to come out of the ground when it heard
you were not around to annoy it. Had we been about the place yesterday,
instead of at camp, the corn may never have dared come out of hiding."
Natalie glanced at the speaker to see if she was in earnest, but Janet
laughed merrily at the words.
"Well," ventured Natalie, "as we ought really to find enough girls to
fill our quota for a Patrol, I think we will visit some of the families
to-day, and then attend to our farm work later."
"How shall we manage to get around to the different houses, Nat, if they
are so far apart?" asked Janet.
"I'm going to sit on the steps and watch for Mr. Ames to go by. When he
comes in sight I shall ask him to drive us to the Corners. He will stop
at Tompkins' for an hour, most likely, and by that time we can be ready
to come back. I want to call on Nancy Sherman and Hester Tompkins. They
are both about our age. On our way back from the store, we will ask Mr.
Ames to tell us when he can drive us to his brother's farm to buy the
pig. He may say we can go this afternoon, and if he does, we'll go!"
"We'll buy the pig, all right, but we'll also get the Ames girl to say
whether she wants to be a Girl Scout with us," laughed Janet, admiring
Natalie's clever plan.
"Janet," remarked Mrs. James, "don't you see a great improvement in
Natalie's ambitions? In the city she never gave a thought to planning
anything. Now she is all plans for the future."
"Yes, I see Nat blossoming out into a regular organizer," laughed Janet.
"If I don't watch out she will usurp my throne. I was always the leader
in the crowd of girls at school, but Nat is fast getting ahead of me."
The very idea of Natalie advancing ahead of Janet made the girl laugh.
But it pleased her, too, to hear her friends praise her. She knew, as
well as anyone, that she was lazy and procrastinating in the city. But
now she was eager to do things and to do them at once!
While she sat on the side piazza waiting for Mr. Ames, she watched the
robins alight on the trees beyond the fence that divided the lawn from
the field. They called to others, and chirruped at a great rate, as they
fluttered in and out among the green branches.
"What do you suppose makes them gather in _those_ trees? They have been
there all day yesterday and to-day. Can they be building community
nests?" wondered Natalie aloud to Mrs. James.
"I rather think they are after the cherries. The fruit seems to have
ripened quickly these last two days, and robins are very fond of ripe
cherries."
"Whose cherry trees are they, Jimmy?"
"I don't know, Natty, but the field is said to belong to this farm, so I
am going to ask Mr. Ames if the cherries are on our property. You see,
they grow on the line with the fence, so I cannot tell what the land-law
says about them."
Mr. Ames was now seen driving leisurely along the dusty road, and the
three who were awaiting him walked down to the gate and stood under the
great elm tree watching his approach.
"Good-mornin'," called he, when within hearing.
"Good-morning," chorused the waiting group.
"I be'n thinkin' sence yistiddy, when I druv past them churry trees,
there, that you'se oughter pick 'em right off! Ef you don't the durned
robins'll spile all the fruit fer youh," announced the farmer, not
waiting to draw up to the gate.
"Oh, we wanted to ask you if the trees belonged to us," returned Mrs.
James.
"Why, sure! Who else kin claim 'em?" said he.
"They stand on the fence-line, so we were not sure," explained Natalie,
showing off her newly-acquired land-learning.
"It ain't that they're standin' on the survey line, but that the last
farmer here used them trees fer fence-posts to nail the wire on. That
saved him three hull chestnut posts, see?"
"Oh, I see!" returned Mrs. James. "But how far off the line is his
fence? Are the trees inside or outside the wire fence?"
"Well, as fur as I remember now, he ran the fence about a foot this side
the line-path. Your proppity ackchully goes out a foot furder on the
road, but runnin' the wire where he did, he managed to get the use outen
all them trees what grow along the road. He saved 'most fifteen dollars
in posts by doin' that."
Mrs. James studied the situation for a few moments and then said: "When
was the wire fence stretched on this line?"
"Why, lemme see!" and Farmer Ames shoved his hat over one ear while he
scratched his head for the necessary intelligence to beam forth. "That
was the last year, before one, that he lived here."
"Then the fence has stood on that line about three years?" persisted
Mrs. James.
"Yeh, about that."
"Well, then, I'll tell Mr. Marvin to order you to change it. When you
get time you can plan to put up posts on the _right_ property line and
remove the old wire fence."
Natalie and Janet wondered why anyone should bother over such a little
matter, but Mr. Ames understood, and smiled.
"I reckon you knows somethin' about proppity law, eh?"
"I know this much--that if that fence is allowed to stand without
protest for a certain time the land becomes public property, and Natalie
would have a lawsuit on her hands if she ever sold it or wished to claim
it again. The fence should never have been placed back from the line,
even if it saved fifteen dollars. Those three cherry trees are worth ten
times that sum, and once they become public property we can never regain
rights in them."
Thus the two girls learned a bit of amazing real estate law while they
stood by the wagon. When Mrs. James concluded, Natalie told Mr. Ames
they wished to go to the store, so he gladly made room for them on the
seat beside him.
Janet and Natalie had no difficulty in enlisting Nancy Sherman and
Hester Tompkins in a proposed membership of the new Patrol, and these
two girls promised to interest Mabel Holmes and Sue Harper. So there
were already four girls, each about fourteen years old.
"I'm sure Dorothy Ames will join right off, 'cause she knows a girl at
White Plains who is a Scout, and Dot wanted to start something like it
here. But we didn't know how to begin," explained Nancy Sherman.
When Mr. Ames was ready to drive home, his two companions were ready
also. Soon after they had left the Corners Natalie spoke of their desire
to visit his brother's to buy a pig.
Janet instantly added: "And I want some chickens, too. Must I have a hen
set on eggs to raise them?"
"You kin do as you like about that! I kin sell you'se some young chicks
cheap, and you kin raise 'em. Then you kin buy a settin' hen and raise a
brood that way, too. An' you'se kin keep some old fowl fer layin' aigs
to use in the cookin'."
"Dear me, how much would all that cost me?" worried Janet.
"Wall, the aigs fer settin' ain't more'n other kinds. Th' old hen'll
cost yuh about two dollars. Layin' hens cost about one-fifty each, an' a
good rooster'll cost near abouts two-fifty. The leetle chicks won't cost
no more'n twenty-five cents each."
"Oh, that is fine! I can do that, all right!" cried Janet delightedly.
"How much will the pig cost her?" asked Natalie.
"Not much. When my brother has such a big litter as this one is, I've
known him to give away a few of the little porkers before they cost him
anything fer feed."
Natalie and Janet exchanged looks! Plainly they said: "Oh, if only those
pigs haven't cost him anything for feed!"
"How about keepin' right on to my brother's farm, now?" asked Mr. Ames,
as they drew near the Green Hill house.
"That will be all right! We'll just let Jimmy know," replied Natalie
delightedly.
Farmer Ames was a kindly soul, but he had a keen sense of business as
well. When he heard the two girls talk of buying a pig and chickens, he
wished to close the bargain without delay for his brother and himself.
If they had time to think it over, they might change their minds, and he
would lose a sale. So he proposed that they go right on then and
conclude the business.
"How about paying for them, now, Mr. Ames?" asked Janet. "I have to
write home for my money, and that will take a few days."
"Oh, don't let that worry you any. Let my brother do the worryin' about
his pay," laughed Mr. Ames jokingly.
Mrs. James consented to their going to the stock-farm then and there,
but reminded the girls that the chicken-coops and pig-pens were not
ready to receive any living creatures yet.
"Oh, we'll fix all that when we get back," called Janet as they drove
away.
Janet found the stock-farm so interesting that she almost forgot the
real cause of their visit--the enlisting of Dorothy in the new Patrol.
The little pink pigs were so alluring in their antics that Janet decided
to buy the three which had been separated from the mother and had been
weaned.
The price asked seemed ridiculously cheap, compared to what butchers in
the city charged for a pound of pork. So the three pigs were placed in a
small box and the top was slatted down to keep the lively little things
in bounds.
When this thrilling business matter had been concluded, Natalie told
Dorothy about the new Patrol they wished to launch. They had no trouble
whatever in gaining Dorothy's eager consent to become a member, as she
had long wanted to be a Scout. So the two girls started homeward about
noontime, feeling that they had accomplished a wonderful day's business
in many ways.
"We'll jest stop at my house to let you choose some hens an' chicks, an'
I'll deliver 'em in the mornin', when I drive by."
"Why can't we take them along with us to-night?" asked Janet.
"Cuz it is hard work to ketch hens in the daytime whiles they are
scratchin' around. But onct they go to roost at night, it is easy to get
hold of 'em without excitin' 'em too much."
Natalie and Janet gazed at the various chickens they found about the
place, and Natalie whispered to her companion when the farmer was not
near by:
"Janet, choose the biggest ones you see, because Mr. Ames said they were
all the same price. Some of these are awfully small while some are great
heavy hens. You won't be taking advantage of him, you know, if he said
we could take any we liked."
"That's so! I might take those big white hens with the yellow legs,"
replied Janet.
"Yes, they're nice-looking, too. Those dappled ones are not a bit
picturesque; nor are those smaller hens with red-brown plumage. The
white ones will look so nice walking around our lawn."
So Janet selected six of the largest white hens she could find in the
entire flock of several hundred chickens. Mr. Ames remonstrated in vain
that she had better take Rhode Island Reds, or some of the guinea hens
instead. She _wanted_ the big white ones.
"And we'll take that lovely rooster with the wonderful tail," added
Janet, selecting one with marvellous hues in his cock-plumes when the
sun changed its colors to variegated beauty.
"He ain't no good fer a rooster, Miss," said Mr. Ames.
Natalie whispered advice again. "Janet, I believe he wants to keep him
for himself. Don't let him do it."
"Mr. Ames, I'll take the one with those pretty feathers, or I won't buy
any!" declared Janet firmly.
"Oh, all right, Miss. I don't care what you choose as long as you want
them. But I'm tellin' you-all, them hens is old and that rooster is
sickly," explained Mr. Ames, in a tone that said plainly: "I wash my
hands of all your future complaints."
"Now how about the young chicks you told us about? Can I buy some of
them?" asked Janet, when hens and rooster were noted on a paper.
"Yeh; come with me and I'll show you the kind you'd best get to start
with. They're about three to four weeks old and kin scratch fer
themselves and eat whatever they find. You kin let them run wild, and
they'll get stronger that way."
Then the chicks were selected and Mr. Ames found a hen that was wanting
to set on a nest of eggs. So he picked up the hen and put her in a
feed-bag. Both Natalie and Janet cried in fear lest she smother before
they reached home.
"Nah, she's ust to such ways. I'll set her when we git over to Green
Hill, and you gals kin pick out the eggs and slip 'em under her to-night
when it is dark. Then she won't bother you."
All this was very interesting to the two girls who had never heard a
word about raising chickens, or setting hens, before. So Mr. Ames drove
them home in high spirits. The crate holding the pigs was left by the
kitchen steps, and the hen placed in the coop on some china eggs, until
Janet could select other eggs.
On his way past the house again, Mr. Ames called to Mrs. James: "Them
churries oughter be picked soon. Ef you want me and my man to do it, we
kin come this afternoon, likely."
Rachel overheard and said: "Mis' James, pickin' ox-hearts is fun fer
gals. Dem trees is jus' bustin' wid fruit a-waitin' a lot of young gals'
hands to pick 'em. Ef I wuz you, Honey, I'd give Mr. Ames an answer in
th' mawnin'. One night moh won't hurt the fruit, nohow."
The farmer sent an angry glance at Rachel, but she met it with
effrontery. When Mrs. James said, "I think I will wait until to-morrow
before deciding," Rachel grinned at the discomfited man.
He drove away without loss of time, and merely said: "I'll bring them
chickens over to-morrer."
The moment he was out of hearing, Rachel said eagerly: "Why, Mis' James,
them Girl Scouts down at camp'll give their haids to climb them trees
and pick cherries on shares fer you. Charity begins to home, so let our
gals get the benefit, says I!"
"Oh yes, Jimmy! Then Janet and I can help them, too. It will be heaps of
fun, I think. We have a good ladder in the barn, and another shorter one
in the cellar, so some of us can pick the outside boughs while the
others climb up and do the inside branches," planned Natalie.
Mrs. James studied the blue sky seriously. Then said: "I suppose we
ought to pick them at once, then, while the weather is good. Once a rain
sets in, cherries will rot. The birds, too, are ruining the ripe fruit
with their pickings, so we ought to begin work immediately after
luncheon."
"I'll tell you, then!" exclaimed Natalie. "While you and Rachel get the
luncheon out, Janet and I will hurry to camp and ask Miss Mason if her
girls want to do the work."
"I'm sure they will be crazy to do it," added Janet.
So the two friends ran down to the woodland camp where a bevy of merry
Girl Scouts were just finishing their dinner. Natalie told what brought
her there, and added: "We ought to be able to pick all the cherries
before sundown, don't you think so, Miss Mason?"
"Why, yes, if so many of us work. But we might break down the branches
if we all climb in the trees," said she.
"Some of us will use ladders, and some climb the trees. There are three,
you know, so we can plan to be on different boughs to pick," explained
Natalie.
The Scouts donned their overalls which they generally used in outdoor
work about camp, and started back with Natalie. At the house they were
told that the fruit was to be gathered on shares, and each girl could
sell her cherries to Mrs. James, or keep them, as she chose. Then the
pickers were given baskets, or pails, and sent to the trees, where
Natalie and Janet joined them after luncheon.
The step-ladder found in the attic was brought down and placed under the
tree with the low boughs. One girl mounted this and began to pick from
its top step. The long ladder from the barn was placed against another
tree so that the topmost branches could be reached by careful work, and
a short ladder was put against the lower boughs.
Natalie eagerly climbed up in the branches of one of the trees and began
to pick quickly. She had a two-quart tin pail that was hung over a short
branch near her hands, and as she began to pick the cherries, she sang
or called to her companions. Rachel smiled approvingly as she heard her
"Honey-Chile" so happy, then she turned to go back to her kitchen and
start a big supper for so many Girl Scouts that night.
After a time, Janet called to Natalie: "Say, aren't a lot of the
cherries bad from the pecking the birds gave them?"
"Yes, and it's a shame, too! I pick what seems to be a luscious cherry,
and when it is in my hand, it turns out to have a great rotted spot on
the other side," added one of the Scouts.
"If the birds would only keep at the same cherry and finish it, instead
of flying from one to another and taking a nip out of each," said
Natalie.
"Well, you see, they bite the ripe spot out of the cherry, and then fly
to another good ripe mouthful. It is easier that way than trying to turn
their heads around the cherry to eat the opposite side," laughed Janet.
"Girls!" now shouted Natalie, making a quick dash at something about her
head. "Do these horrid little yellow-jackets annoy you, too?"
"They are after the decayed cherries," called a Scout.
"They are not yellow-jackets, are they? I thought they were hornets,"
said another Scout.
"They're both--there is a hornet, now--buzzing about my ear!" cried
Janet.
At that very moment, a sharp scream from Natalie caused every girl to
turn her head and see what had happened. In another moment a crash of
branches and a flash of a body falling down through the leaves made
several of the Scouts cry out in fright.
Natalie had been picking the cherries from the topmost branches, as she
liked to sit up high and pelt the stones from the fruit she ate, down at
the girls' heads, to tease them. The hornets had a small nest in the top
of the tree, but Natalie was not aware of that. As she called and
laughed at her friends, the hornets began to grow excited, and when they
found the annoyance failed to go away but came ever nearer their nest,
they buzzed about and threatened in angry terms. Still Natalie paid no
attention to what they said to her. She thought they wanted to feed on
the rotten fruit, whereas they merely wished her to go and leave them in
peace.
At last the disturbance was too much for one of the old hornets. He flew
in circles about her head and scolded until his exasperation took form
in the offensive. Natalie's neck was a very advantageous spot and she
could not see him when he lit on her collar and quickly crept up to the
soft smooth skin in the nape of the neck.
Without further warning he drove in his dagger-point and Natalie
screamed with pain. Forgetting that she was up in a tree, and must cling
fast to the boughs, she suddenly put both hands to her neck. The natural
result was, she fell down so quickly that her friends could not get to
her assistance in time to do a thing.
Smaller twigs and branches had given way with her weight and she would
have fallen to the ground, had not a friendly bough caught her under the
arms and suspended her momentarily. Then the smaller bough that grew
from the friendly one snapped short off under the girl's weight, and the
sharp up-thrusting section left on the tree ran right through the
suspender-straps at the back of her overalls. There she hung, like a toy
doll on a Christmas Tree,--her feet dangling and her head and hands
helplessly held out to be taken down by some kind friend.
The terrifying scream brought Rachel running from the kitchen and Mrs.
James up from the cellar, where she had gone to hunt for more containers
for the cherries. When Rachel saw what had happened she wrung her fat
hands in agony.
"Oh, m' Honey! My li'l' chile--hang on t' dat limb fer all you'se wuth!"
yelled she. Then she rushed over the grass to the rescue,--but Natalie
dangled just out of reach above her head.
Janet slid down the rough trunk of the cherry-tree the moment she heard
her friend shriek. Her thin stockings hung in strips when she reached
the ground, and her legs were skinned from knees to ankles, but she felt
no pain, as she was so excited over the outcome of this accident.
"Quick! Someone get that step-ladder we had here!" cried she, jumping up
and down in her fear that Natalie would let go and fall; yet she was too
excited to run for the ladder herself.
Rachel instantly comprehended and jumped across the intervening space
between the two trees and caught a firm hold of the lower part of the
step-ladder. She never stopped to see if anyone was on the top step. But
one of the Scouts had been standing on it with her form hidden in the
foliage of the tree. As Rachel whirled the ladder out from under her,
the Scout was left in mid-air, instinctively clutching the branches to
save herself.
The other Scouts had descended the trees by this time, and some ran over
to help save Natalie, while others stopped under the tree where the new
accident threatened to take place.
"Help! Help!" yelled the girl who was dangling from a bough.
Miss Mason had been measuring the cherries impartially, half for the
individual pickers and half for Mrs. James, when the first accident
happened. She was out of the house and crossing the grass when the
second scream reached her ears. She saw an old hemp hammock hanging from
a clothes pole on the drying-place, and had a sudden idea.
The hammock was snatched and carried over to the tree where the Scout
hung. "Here, girls! Spread it out quickly! We will have a life-saving
net and win a reward for our presence of mind!" ordered the teacher.
The Scouts instantly obeyed and the net was spread even as May wailed:
"I have to let go! My hands won't hold on longer!"
"All right! Drop!" commanded Miss Mason. "We'll save you."
May yelled and let go. She was caught in the meshes of the old hammock,
but the hemp was so rotten that in another moment it separated and let
May down on the grass. However, it had answered its purpose, for the
time, and had broken her fall.
While this "first-aid" was being given, Rachel ran, in great excitement,
back to assist Natalie. She had hastily placed the extra-high
step-ladder under the tree and, without taking time to see that the
braces that hold back and front sections firmly apart were _not_ taut,
she began to mount the steps to reach her "Honey."
Half-way up, the now overbalanced ladder started to sway uncertainly,
and Rachel gasped as she wildly tried to clutch something to steady
herself. Natalie's feet were the only available things in sight.
"Ough! Mis' James! Heigh, down dere--someone grab hol' on dis ladder!"
shouted Rachel, her eyes almost popping from her head.
"Wait! Hold on, Rachel!" called a chorus of voices below.
The ladder was still quaking uncertainly when Rachel lost courage and
began to descend precipitously, without stopping to find a sure footing
on the steps. Consequently, she missed the second step from the bottom
and sat down unceremoniously in a bushel of ripe ox-hearts.
"Umph!" was the grunt that was forced from her lungs, but the Scouts all
howled with dismay when they saw the result to their patient cherry
picking.
Janet did not stop to see what was occurring to Rachel. The moment she
saw the mammy come down, she ran up the steps and steadied herself by
holding to the bough from which Natalie still swung. Miss Mason managed
to hold the bottom of the ladder until Janet had guided her friend's
feet to the top step. Then the strain on the suspenders was loosened and
it was easy to unbuckle the straps at the back of the overalls.
In a few more moments, Natalie was helped down the ladder and once more
stood on _terra firma_. But such a funny sight was presented her when
she breathed in safety once more, that she momentarily forgot the hornet
sting and laughed wildly.
Mrs. James had called several of the Scouts to help her in pulling
Rachel up out of the bushel basket upon her feet again. This muscular
deed was accomplished just as Natalie stepped down on the ground. But
Rachel's percale bungalo-gown was a sight!
The luscious ripe cherries were mashed all over her skirt, and half of
the fruit in the basket was crushed as if done by a fruit-press. Rachel
was torn between two fires--that of humble apology to the scout-pickers
for spoiling their "fruits of labor" and concern over Natalie who was
holding her hand over the back of her neck. Mother-instinct that was so
deeply rooted in Rachel, although she had never had a child of her own,
won the day and she ran over to Natalie to ascertain the extent of the
troublesome sting.
"Oh, mah pore Honey! Mah sweet li'l' chile--did dem nasty bees sting
yoh?" Rachel cried, enfolding Natalie in her capacious embrace. Then she
added, "Now jus' you-all wait a minit, chillun, an' I'll soon git dat
stinger out."
Consequently she made a soft paste of mud and water, and slapped a
handful of it on Natalie's neck. Then she tied a towel over it to keep
it in place.
"Now, Honey, yoh jus' sit heah wid yoh haid down in front, so's dat mud
won't run down yoh back," advised she.
Natalie obeyed, albeit the mud did ooze in trickles down her back and
fill up at her belt in a dried lump.
The pain of the sting was soon over, and Natalie tried to gather some
more cherries, but she kept away from the top of the tree where the
hornets still buzzed angrily about. The other Scouts also kept a safe
distance from that nest.
By sundown all the cherries were picked, and the quantity evenly divided
into shares. Each girl had made a pile of the fruit she gathered, and so
no Scout felt that another was benefiting by her work. But when all was
measured out, it was found that the girls had picked about the same
quantities, with but little variation.
That evening while enjoying Rachel's bountiful supper, the Scout girls
were told about the new Patrol that Janet and Natalie were hoping to
start. That was a very engrossing subject and no one gave a thought to
things outside, until it was time for the Scouts to return to camp. Then
a plaintive squealing came from a crate placed on the piazza, and Janet
suddenly remembered the pigs.
"Oh, horrors! Will little pigs die if they have been left without a
thing to eat for a day?" wailed she, as she clasped her hands in shocked
concern.
Everyone laughed at her, and Mrs. James said: "Not if you attend to them
at once. But they will have to live in the crate overnight, as nothing
can be done about housing them now."
So Rachel mixed a dish of warm milk and corn meal for the wailing
squealers, and soon hushed their clamorings. Janet felt guilty of gross
neglect on the first night of her business investment, but Natalie tried
to condole with her by saying:
"Well, cherries, and pigs, and new Scouts can't all be gathered in one
day, you know."
This created such a laugh at the quaint combination of the triple
interests, that Janet felt relieved in mind. After the Scouts had gone
back to camp, Natalie reminded Janet of the eggs they were to give the
hen for setting.
"We'll do that now," said Janet anxiously.
So the two girls went to the pantry without asking advice of Rachel or
Mrs. James, and counted out twelve eggs. These were carefully carried to
the hen-coop and after many wild squawkings from the hen, and concerned
action by the two farmerettes, seven of the twelve eggs remained
unbroken and were placed under the future mother of a family.
"My! I wouldn't want to experience a skirmish with a hen very often,"
said Janet, counting the scratches on her hands and arms after they
reëntered the kitchen.
"Neither would I," agreed Natalie, holding her hands and wrists under
the cold water faucet to let the cooling flood wash away the signs of
battle with the hen's sharp bill.
"Well, she's got seven sound eggs to hatch, anyway. When we get time to
spare, we will put a few other eggs under her, so we can have the full
dozen chicks as Mr. Ames advised."
"I never knew it was such a simple matter to raise chicks, did you?"
remarked Natalie, as she wiped her hands on the kitchen towel.
"No, and when you think of all the money we pay for roast chicken in New
York, it makes you want to live always on a farm, doesn't it?" added
Janet.
But neither girl knew that many store eggs were not suitable for
hatching chicks. They had not examined the yolks as chicken farmers do,
to see if the egg was fertilized. So they had placed two suitable eggs,
and five unfertilized eggs, under the hen. When but two chicks would
result from that experiment, what a disappointment there would be. Janet
would be sure to declare that stock-raising wasn't such an easy
business, after all!