Page 14 of The Carter Girls


  CHAPTER XIV.

  THE WEEK-ENDERS.

  "If the weather only holds!" exclaimed Douglas. "This first week-end isthe most important of all. If the boarders have a good time they willwant to come back, and then they will give us such a good name thatothers will want to come, too."

  "People who can't rise above mere weather should be taught a lesson,"declared Helen.

  "Nonsense, child!" from Miss Somerville. "Weather is something no onecan rise above. A week of rain in these mountains would make all of usready to kill each other and then commit suicide."

  "I hope we won't be put to the test," said Nan.

  "I should hope not! 'Continual dripping on a rainy day' is a proverbialevil. I hope some bridge players will be numbered among the guests. I amhungry for a game."

  "Why, Cousin Lizzie, you know we don't mind playing a bit," said Helen."Why don't you ask us whenever you want to?"

  "Don't mind playing? Bless you, child! Who wants to play with people whoplay because they 'don't mind playing'? I can see that game now! 'What'strumps?' 'Whose play is it?' 'I thought I had played!' 'I must havereniged as I find I have a heart, after all.' No, no! When I play cards,I want the game made up of devotees. How would you like a partner in thedance who danced merely out of good-nature and kept forgetting whetherhe was dancing the schottische or mazurka?"

  As no one had danced either of those obsolete dances for at least thirtyyears, the girls could not help a few sly smiles.

  How rapidly that first week had flown! They had settled now into regularcamp life, even Miss Somerville. She had secretly decided that Naturewas not half bad and had once found herself admiring a sunset. She hadkept her admiration to herself, however, for fear some over-zealousperson might make her get up and see a sunrise.

  Oscar and Susan, with Gwen doing the head work, had managed the cookingbeautifully for the few people they had to serve. It remained to be seenhow things would go when the boarders poured in for the week-end.

  Pour in they did, six more than the girls had prepared for; but Lewisand Bill with their ready inventions made beds for the boys of spruceboughs, and immediately put in an order for more cots and an extra tent.

  There were two careful mammas who had come along to look after theirdaughters and an old bachelor who had a niece in tow; so Cousin Lizziemade up her table of bridge and every one was happy, especially thedaughters of the careful mammas and the niece who was in tow. If onemust be chaperoned, it is certainly pleasant to have the chaperoneinterested in something besides chaperoning.

  The Mountain Goat made three round trips to the station to meetpassengers on the afternoon train on that first Friday, and otherenthusiastic campers walked up the mountain. Josephus was very busywith a cart full of bags and bundles. One of the stipulations that thegirls had made in their advertisements was that every one must bring hisor her own blankets. This was at the instigation of Dr. Wright, who saidit would be very difficult to furnish blankets enough; and also forsanitary reasons he knew it to be wise. Sheets are easy to have washed,but blankets are not so simple a proposition.

  The twenty week-enders were all young with the exception of the twocareful mammas, the old bachelor with the niece in tow, and twostiff-backed spinsters who must have had some good reason of their ownfor coming to camp in the mountains but they did not give it. Theylooked very grim and uncompromising as they sat on the back seat of theGoat with a plump and pleasing little stenographer, who was to take hermuch-needed holiday at the camp, wedged in between them.

  "They must be geologists," whispered Douglas to Lewis. Douglas and Lucyhad gone to the station to meet the newcomers, while Helen and Nan wereto receive them at camp. "One of them had a little hammer sticking outof her pocket."

  "Well, let's hope they will keep their hammers for rocks and not knockthe camp with them."

  "Do you know, I did an awfully foolish thing? I put Tillie Wingo on thefront seat with Bill and forgot to introduce them. Helen would neverhave done such a tactless thing."

  "Well, a small thing like an introduction here or there won't stopTillie. I bet she talks poor Bill blue in the face," laughed Lewis.

  So she did. Miss Hill, the pleasant stenographer, told Helen that notfor one moment did Tillie stop talking on that zig-zag ride up themountain. She poured forth a stream of delightful high-pitched nothingsinto Bill's crimson ear. Bill, as was his habit, said nothing, and, likethe tar baby, kept on saying nothing. She had his ear; his eye mustperforce remain on the perilous road; his tongue was his to hold, andhe held it. Once he let forth a great laugh which had the effect ofshutting Tillie up for almost thirty seconds; but it was not time to goto sleep yet and Tillie was accustomed to talk until she went to sleepand sometimes even afterwards.

  "A week-end camp is a most original idea and every one in Richmond issimply wild about it. You see, the Carters are very popular and if theydecide to do something, lots of people will want to be doing it, too.Helen Carter is considered the best dressed girl in Richmond, not thatshe dresses more than any of the other girls but she has such goodtaste. All of us girls are wild about her clothes. I adore camping! I'djoin the Camp-Fire but somehow khaki is not becoming to me. Do you know,I do not think that muddy tan is becoming to decided blondes--not that Iam such a very decided blonde. I know lots of girls who wear it who arenot near so highly colored as I am--but somehow I think tan takes allthe life out of a blonde. Of course, one can wear white up close to theface, but even then the tan kind of ruins a blonde complexion. I preferblue and pink and lavender and green and, of course, yellow, and Ithink grey is just sweet for a blonde. I am wild for a black dress butmy mother is so old-fashioned she thinks no one under thirty should wearblack unless, of course, there happens to be a death in the family.Under those circumstances, I fancy she would let me wear black. I wouldnot wear heavy mourning but just some diaphanous, gauzy thing withtulle--although I do think that organdy collars and cuffs set one offterrifically well. I think I would make a splendid widow--don't you?"

  It was here that Bill gave his great guffaw, but it was also at aparticularly ticklish place in the road, so he could not look at hisblonde passenger.

  Tillie stopped for the aforesaid thirty seconds and then decided thatthe dumb young man running the car was a common chauffeur and perhapsshe had better change her form of conversation to one not suggestingequality. It never entered her head to stop talking.

  "Richmond is just running over with jitneys now. They make such a dustyou can't see whether they are coming or going. Did you ever run ajitney? They say there is lots of money in them. I should think youwould do better doing that than doing this--of course, though, you knowbest, and perhaps you get your board thrown in up here. Mamma said sheknew that the Carter girls would not know how to feed people becausethey have always led such soft lives, but I said I was coming, anyhow.I am dying to fall off. I really should have walked up the mountaininstead of riding as that would be a good way to start, but I had on mybest shoes and I knew it would ruin them. Douglas Carter wrote me to besure and bring a blanket, but I simply could not get one in my grip andI said I would sleep cold before I would be seen carrying a great oldblanket over my arm like lots of these people. It was horribly hot inRichmond and I did not think it could be cold coming just this littleway. I think it is so brave and noble for the Carter girls to try tohelp their father this way. They do say he is dippy and was quitewild-eyed. I have a friend who was on the sleeper with Mr. and Mrs.Carter when they went to New York, and he says they shut themselves upin the drawing room and acted awful queer. He didn't say just how, butit must have been something fierce. What is this funny looking place?Is this the camp? My, ain't it odd? I am very much obliged to you forbringing me up. Please look after my suitcase for me--it is the largeone, really a small trunk, but I had no idea of mashing my new pinkinto a pulp just for the sake of reducing my luggage. Here, this is foryou--and please get my baggage," and Tillie handed the astonished Billa quarter.

  "Didn't know what to say, so I just to
ok it," Bill told Lewis afterward."First money I've earned since I was a kid and picked blackberries forGrandmother to jam, at five cents a quart. Dog, if I would not ratherpick the berries, briars and all! I felt like hollering to somebody tothrow something over the cage, that the canary was making such a fuss Icouldn't think."

  Josh, too, was the victim of tips but he indignantly returned the moneythat was proffered him with this remark:

  "We uns ain't beholden to nobody, but is employed regular by Mr.Somerville, we uns and Josephus."

  That is often the spirit of the mountaineer. He will sell anything butcannot stomach a tip.

  Helen and Nan received the guests as they piled out of the Mountain Goator came up the winding road on foot. It was a very exciting moment forour girls. This was really the beginning of their great adventure. Werethey to succeed or not? The week-enders were there, for once at least,but could these girls make it so agreeable that they would want to comeback?

  "Do look at Tillie Wingo, Nan! Did you ever see such a goose? She has onten dollar champagne shoes and a blue Georgette crepe that would melt ina mist!"

  "Yes, she is some goose, but she will pay us just as sensible board asanybody else, so we must not be too critical," and Nan went forward tomeet the pretty blonde Tillie and the stiff-backed spinsters and thepleasant Miss Hill, and Helen smothered her indignation at Tillie's badtaste in being so unsuitably dressed for camping and did her best tomake it pleasant for her, Georgette crepe, champagne shoes and all.

  There was much enthusiasm from the new arrivals as they inspected thecamp. Every one went into ecstasies over the view and the arrangements.Miss Somerville awaited them in the pavilion, where she stood as at areception, receiving the guests with great formality.

  "These young persons must understand fully that I am the chaperone, andI think a dignified reception of them will be conducive to good behavioron their part," she had said to Helen as she dressed herself in a blacksilk afternoon gown and arranged her beautiful white hair in its shiningpuffs.

  At Gwen's instigation, afternoon tea was served as soon as the formalreception was over--tea for those so inclined and grape-juice-lemonadefor the more frivolous.

  A card table was unfolded for Miss Somerville, the two anxious mothersand the old bachelor with a niece in tow.

  "Quite like the springs," whispered Cousin Lizzie to Helen, as she gotbrand new packs of cards for the opening game of the season.

  Our girls had thought they would have to be quite busy entertaining theweek-enders, but they found to their delight that they could entertainthemselves. There were more than enough of the male element to go aroundand in an incredibly short time they had sorted themselves to theirmutual satisfaction and were either dancing to the latest record, whichTillie Wingo had put in her bursting semi-trunk, in lieu of a blanket,or were roaming over the mountain side.

  Lil Tate, Lucy's boon companion and school-mate, had come and the twogirls had gone off arm in arm, while Frank Maury, a callow youth offifteen, walked shyly after them, hoping they would take him in theirtrain and fearing every moment that they might. His hopes and fears wereboth realized and by supper time the three were sworn allies; Frank haddetermined to come up the next week and bring Skeeter, his chum, andLil had declared she was going to make her mother let her spend thewhole summer with Lucy.

  "Mamma's an awful 'fraid cat about me and just would come along. Thankgoodness, she and Miss Somerville have got cards to occupy 'em and shehas forgotten there isn't but one of me," laughed Lil, who was asprightly little brunette. "I wisht I had been born triplets and thenshe wouldn't have to be so particular."

  "Gee, I'm glad I ain't a girl--but I like girls a lot--" stammeredFrank. "Skeeter and I think they are just great," and so they chatteredon.

  Bobby was not so happy. His friend Josh was too busy with Josephus andthe luggage to have him around, and no boon companion had arrived forhim. He had been made to wash and dress, which, he considered, was agreat breach of faith on the part of his sisters. He had it firmlyplaced in his memory that he had been promised by some one that when hegot to the mountains he would never have to wash and dress. He sat witha very disconsolate mien in a corner of the pavilion, watching Tillie'spretty little feet in their champagne shoes twirling round and around,every few moments with another pair of masculine shoes accompanyingthem, as Tillie was never long without a flock of the opposite sex inher wake. She could hardly get around the pavilion before the dance wasbroken into by some eager swain. She was noted as being able to dancedown more partners than any girl in Richmond, and it was slyly hintedthat she was so long-winded because of her never ceasing practice inconversation.

  Bobby looked gloomily at the twinkling feet. They were too clean forhim, those champagne-colored shoes. His own feet were disgustinglyclean, too. Maybe he could rectify that with a judicious sprinkling ofgrape juice and then some clay sifted over them. He would try! Just thenthe stiff-backed spinsters, who turned out to be educators off on abotanical and geological spree, bore down on him and seating themselveson each side of him began:

  "Little boy, are you enjoying your stay in the mountains?"

  "Naw!"

  "Ah, perhaps you are too idle and need occupation. Can you read andwrite?"

  "Naw, I can't read writin' but I can read readin'."

  "You should have a task set you every day and then vacation would nothang so heavily on your hands. Some useful bit of information impartedto you would be edifying and useful."

  "Pshaw! That's the way Cousin Lizzie talks. She's our chapel roan an'knows mo'n anybody 'bout Solomon an' all his glory. She done learnt me averse already onct this mornin'."

  "Ah, indeed! And can you repeat it to us?"

  "Yes! I reckon 'twas the grape juice an' victrola that made her choosethis one: 'Wine is a mucker an' strong drink is rag time.' I kin learnmos' anything," and Bobby hastened off to put the clay on his feetbefore the grape juice bath had time to dry.