CHAPTER X
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR
The moon had come up over the tree-tops before Miss Sallie, with Ruth,Bab and Grace returned from their visit to Mr. Winthrop Latham.
"Well, you certainly have missed it, this time, Miss Mollie!" cried Bab,running into the room where Mollie sat reading. "We have had the mostwonderful time, and met the most charming people. I never saw anything sobeautiful as the village of Lenox. We had a splendid view of it from thetower in Mr. Latham's house. Lenox is called a village of seventy hills,but I am sure we counted more than seventy."
"I am truly sorry you were not with us, Mollie," declared Miss Sallie,coming into the house with the other two girls. "But you will have plentyof opportunity for seeing what we did later on. It will not be long now,before we shall go down in the town to stay. Did you have a nice, quiettime by yourself?" Mollie felt embarrassed. She had hardly been alone.But the other girls did not give her an opportunity to answer.
"Mollie, we have the finest plan!" Ruth broke in. "We are going to have acoon hunt up on the hill. Mr. Latham says it is just the thing to do onthese early autumn nights. All the people we met at his house thisafternoon are to come up to supper with us to-morrow evening. Afterwards,we are to start out after Br'er Possum and Br'er Coon. Won't it be ajolly lark?"
"I don't approve of it, Ruth," said Miss Sallie. "I am sure young girlsnever before took part in such an excursion. I shouldn't allow it, exceptthat Mr. Latham and his sister both assured me it was done by the bestpeople in Lenox. Then the English ambassador's daughters are to joinyou."
Ruth looked solemnly at Bab and Grace. The girls were secretly amused atMiss Sallie's social ambitions.
"Mollie," Ruth explained, "we did meet two such nice English girls thisafternoon--Gwendolin and Dorothy Morton--and an awfully funny, littleman, a secretary at the German embassy. They say that ambassadors are ascommon in Lenox, in the season, as millionaires!"
"Did you like Reginald Latham to-day, Bab?" Mollie inquired, as the twosisters walked into their bedroom together.
"Why, yes," admitted Bab. "I liked him as usual. He is a peaceable kindof man, but rather queer. He is too learned for me. His mother seemsterribly vain of him. She does nothing but talk about his inventiveskill. I believe she encourages the airship business just to get on thegood side of his uncle. Mr. Winthrop Latham is simply crazy on thesubject and does not seem to care about anything else. And he must have atremendous lot of money. But Mrs. Latham, the German sister-in-law, asgood as told Aunt Sallie she and her son were dreadfully poor. They hadalways been obliged to live on the income Mr. Winthrop Latham allowedthem, since her husband lost his money. But I shouldn't think she and herson need worry; Reginald assured me that he was his uncle's only heir."
"Bab," Grace asked, joining the two sisters, "why did you spend so muchtime out in that shed looking at airship models? You know you did notunderstand them in the least; but our host and his blessed nephew werecertainly pleased at your interest. Mrs. Latham showed Aunt Sallie andRuth and me over the house. They have an art gallery and rooms full ofcurios, just like a museum. The house is a perfect palace."
"There was an older Mr. Latham once!" Ruth announced, sticking her headin from the door of her bedroom to join in the conversation. "But I don'tthink he was a credit to the family. They are silent about him. I askedone of the girls we met this afternoon if Mr. Winthrop Latham and hisnephew were all of the Latham family. Just as she started to tell me,Reginald Latham came up to us, and she stopped talking in a hurry."
"Miss Ruth Stuart, I believe I was talking," interrupted Grace severely."Kindly allow me the floor! Mollie is most certainly not interested inthe Latham family history. Who is? Nor does she care a fig for Mr.Reginald Latham and his toy balloons. But, Mollie, I was endeavoring totell you about the wonderful curios they have in their house. The latelamented brother, we were informed, has left behind him one of the mostfamous collection of Indian relics in the world. If I am obliged tomention the stupid subject of family history, I must say that the Lathamsare an old family up in this part of the country. They do not belong tothe 'newly rich.' The queer elder brother devoted his life to the studyof the history of the Indians in this part of the world, and has writtena book about them."
"Grace, have you finished making your speech?" inquired Ruth, with mockpoliteness. "Poor Mollie must be bored stiff with all this uselessinformation. How did you spend the afternoon, dear? We have talked somuch about coon hunts and Indian relics and the Lathams that you have hadno chance to answer."
"Oh, I took a nap!" responded Mollie, vaguely, and led the way intosupper.
Late that evening, as the girls sat by the fire, they heard a suddenknocking at their cabin door. Miss Sallie, who was in bed, bounded outagain. For the first time since their arrival in the woods the campingparty was alone. Naki had been obliged to go down the hill on an errand.No one had dreamed of any possible danger in his absence.
The knocking continued. "Open! Open!" cried the voices of two men.
"Who on earth can they be?" Grace asked of the circle of girls. No oneanswered. Ceally came hurriedly in from the kitchen. Miss Sallie stood ather door.
The knocks were repeated in quick succession.
Ceally had taken the precaution, earlier in the evening, to close andbolt all the doors and windows except one. The shutters of this were openon the outside.
"Sh-sh!" whispered Bab, creeping on tiptoes to the window. Before theirfront door, she could dimly outline the figures of two men, who wereevidently arguing and protesting about something.
"Open! Open!" cried the voices again. "We are friends, and will do you noharm."
"Then go away at once!" Miss Sallie commanded.
There was a muffled sound outside the door. Could it be laughter? Then avoice called more roughly. "How long must we wait?"
Ruth and Bab looked at each other blankly. Miss Stuart had gone back intoher own room. "What on earth shall we do? Shall we open the door?" Ruthinquired.
Mollie and Grace both shook their heads.
"Ruth," whispered Barbara resourcefully, "your rifle is behind that door,and Naki's big shotgun is next to it. Of course, we don't know how toshoot either one of the guns very well at present, but, if you will holdyour rifle pointed toward the door, I shall try to shoulder this heavyshotgun. Oh, I have a splendid idea!"
"Out with it, child!" ordered Ruth. "I believe the knocking on the doorwill keep up all night, unless we open it."
"Who's there?" inquired Grace, timidly, before Bab could answer.
"Friends!" responded the men on the outside.
Barbara motioned silence. "Listen to me," she said. "We have no way ofknowing if those men on the outside are friends, whatever they may say.Here is my scheme! Remember the story of the women in a town near here,who once defended their fort against an attack by the Indians, when themen were all away at work in the cornfields? The women dressed up intheir husbands' clothes and frightened the Indians away. Ruth, let'sdisguise ourselves as men and then let Ceally open the door."
"Bab, you and Ruth are both crazy!" protested Mollie, half-laughing, andhalf-frightened.
Bang! Bang! The blows on the door were tremendous. "If you don't let usin, you'll be sorry!" called one of the men.
Bab had already found an old hat of Naki's conveniently near. Ceally, whowas giggling nervously, produced a hunting jacket of her husband's, whichhad seen much service. It was not clean, but Bab slipped into it,determined to see her plan through.
Nor was Barbara the only hero. While she was making her extraordinarycostume, Ruth had torn down a squirrel skin, which some previous hunterhad tacked on their cabin wall and twisted it around her head so that thetail hung down to one side. Then she slipped on her own leather coat,which she gave a more dilapidated appearance, by wearing it wrong sideout.
Both girls got behind chairs to hide their skirts.
"Good gracious, Ruth!" giggled Bab, in spite of her excitement. "You looklike Daniel Boone."
/> During their preparation not a word was heard from Miss Sallie, who wascloseted in her own room.
"Ceally, open the door!" cried Ruth, raising her rifle and leveling it infront of her.
Bab put her elbow on the back of her chair to steady her shotgun.
"Girls!" cried Miss Stuart, unexpectedly. "Don't dare to open that door!"
But she spoke too late. Ceally had already drawn the heavy bolt back andthe door swung aside.
There rushed into the room two men--or to be strictly truthful, two boys.
They looked first at Mollie and Grace, then at Ruth and Bab. Without aword they dropped into two chairs.
"Oh, oh, oh!" they shouted. "Did you ever see anything in the world sofunny? Ralph, look at Ruth!" cried Hugh.
"Ralph Ewing and Hugh Post, where did you come from?" demanded fourgirls' voices together. "We took you for highwaymen."
Bab set down her shotgun and Ruth her rifle. Both girls began pulling offtheir masculine disguises.
"Don't take off those terrifying garments, Bab!" cried Ralph Ewing. "You,Ruth, should have your picture taken in that hat."
By this time, Miss Stuart, fully dressed, with her pompadour neatlyarranged appeared at the door. Highwaymen or no highwaymen, Miss Salliehad no intention of appearing before strange men without being properlydressed. Now she was mistress of herself and of the situation.
Both Huge Post and Ralph Ewing stopped laughing when they saw MissSallie's face. She did not appear overpleased to see her two youngfriends, whose doings were fully described in the preceding volume. "TheAutomobile Girls at Newport."
"Where did you come from?" she asked politely, but without enthusiasm."And why did you knock on our door at this time of the evening, withoutinforming us who you were?"
"Ruth," continued Miss Sallie severely, "what are you and Barbara doingin those clothes? Take them off at once."
"Please, ma'am," responded Bab meekly, but with a twinkle in her eye, "wedressed up as men to frighten the highwaymen."
"You are enough to frighten them, I am sure," retorted Miss Stuartscornfully.
Here, Ralph Ewing spoke in his most charming manner: "Miss Sallie, we doowe you an apology and we make it with all our hearts. We had nointention of playing any pranks when we came up the hill to see you.Several days ago we were informed that 'The Automobile Girls' werecamping in the Berkshires. Well, Hugh and I are on our way to Boston tojoin Mrs. Post, and----"
"Ralph, do let me do my share of the apologizing," interrupted Hugh. "Seehere, Miss Sallie, this nonsense to-night is all my fault. Ralph was deadagainst my pounding at the door and refusing to give our names; but Ithought it would be fun to stir the girls up. I knew two such valiantgirls as Ruth and Barbara would not be really frightened, even if we hadbeen a whole band of outlaws. It was a stupid practical joke and I amashamed of it."
"But how did you find us, Hugh?" put in Ruth, who was embarrassed by heraunt's lack of cordiality to their old Newport friends.
"Please, Aunt Sallie, say you'll forgive us!" Hugh pleaded. "See how manymiles we have traveled to see you. We would have been here in the broaddaylight, only one of the tires in my machine would get a puncture. Theman at the garage told us which hill to climb to find you. We met yourguide coming down the hill, and he gave us further instructions. So herewe are! Aren't you just a little glad to see us?"
"Of course, I am," laughed Aunt Sallie, amiably. "But there is one thingcertain: you can't get down our hill again to-night, and we have no placeto offer you to sleep."
"Is that what is preying on my hospitable aunt's mind all this time?"cried Ruth, throwing her arms about Miss Sallie. "I thought she wasn'ther usual charming self. Of course the boys shan't go down the hill againto-night. I don't know where they will sleep, either; but Bab will bringher fertile brain to bear upon the situation."
"Why, Miss Stuart!" Ralph spoke in relieved tones. "Is this why you arenot pleased to see us? We expect to go down the hill a little later. Onour way up we stopped at a farm house, and the people promised to take usin for the night. We'll come back early in the morning, since Hugh and Imust be off again by afternoon. Mrs. Post is waiting for us in Boston."
"Oh, must you go so soon, boys?" pleaded Ruth. "We are planning thejolliest lark. We are to have a coon hunt up on the hill with someacquaintances we have just made in Lenox. They are to have supper withus, and are to bring up a guide and some coon dogs for our hunt later on.And you simply must stay at the cabin to-night. See, there is a loungehere in the living room, and we have plenty of quilts and steamer rugs.One of you can have the couch and the other can sleep on the floor by thefire."
"May we, Miss Sallie?" Hugh queried.
"As you like, boys," declared Miss Stuart, now completely restored togood humor.
"Then let's stay by all means!" urged Ralph. "What should we expect tosleep on except the floor or the ground? This is the most effete campingparty I ever saw," he declared, looking around their cosy little cabin."You have all the comforts of home, here!"
"Do you think you and Ralph can stay for our coon hunt, Hugh?" asked Bab.
"Oh, for sure, Barbara," Hugh asserted. "I will fix things up with themater for a day; but we shall have to be off the next day without fail.Now, I have an awful confession to make."
"What is it Hugh?" Ruth demanded.
"Ralph and I are starving!" he answered. "We were so bent on getting upto your hut before it was too late, we didn't have time to get anydinner. Could you, would you, just give us each a hunk of bread to stayour appetites?"
"You poor souls!" cried Ruth. "Come on out in the kitchen with me,Mollie. Let Bab and Grace do the entertaining. We'll fix you some eggsand bacon in no time, the best you ever tasted. Our cook has gone tobed."
"Let's have a feast for everybody," proposed Bab. "May we, Miss Sallie? Iam dreadfully hungry again. I haven't had anything to eat for at leasttwo hours and a half."
"Come, turn in then, everybody," Ruth called cheerily. "Here, Bab, youundertake the Welsh rarebit and get out the pickles and crackers. Mollie,get Hugh to help you open these cans of soup. Grace, you and Ralph, setthe table and talk to Aunt Sallie, while I fry my precious bacon."
"I never heard of such an extraordinary combination of things to eat. Youwill ruin your digestions," was Miss Sallie's comment. But she ate justas much as anyone else.
At midnight the girls were at last in bed. Hugh and Ralph, both wrappedin blankets, were in blissful sleep before the camp fire. They hadscorned to accept the offer of the couch, wishing to enjoy camp life tothe fullest extent. So peace followed good cheer in the hut.