CHAPTER V
THE WOODS AT ROCKY LEDGE
Out in the woods!
Forgotten was the dread idea of a Scout uniform or the possible programof a Scout ritual. Nora romped with Cap, discovering new delights atevery few paces and only pausing to exchange salutations with birds,bees and butterflies. The sky was as blue as her gown, and her eyesmatched the entire scheme. Her golden hair tossed in the wind like newcorn silk, and when Jerry and Ted slyly inspected their charge at a safedistance, a most comprehensive nod of a pair of wise heads told volumesto the woodlands and the surrounding Nature audience.
Yes, Nora would do. Now life at the Nest seemed complete. Even thisdreamy, romantic little bit of humanity was a real child, and to thepair of adopted parents she seemed as beautiful as a wild flower.
"Now Ted, you just hold back on that Scout stuff," Jerry had thetemerity to suggest. "We don't want to scare her off, first shot. Andyou can see she's opposed."
"She doesn't understand," replied Ted. "But, of course, there is no needto urge her. No hurry, at any rate."
"I don't know as I like the tom-boy idea," continued Jerry. "She's verypretty just as she is."
Ted laughed knowingly. "You're the boy who pulls down the shades ratherthan say 'no' to the peddlers," she reminded him. "It is easy tounderstand why you are opposing the Scouts."
He adjusted his tripod and seemed to have found something very absorbingat that moment. Nevertheless, his big shoulders shook, and his curlyhead wagged a little suspiciously.
They were surveying the end of a big strip of woodland. All over theyoung forest could be seen the yellow stripes that marked the trees thatwere to be spared, while those unmarked were doomed for the woodman'sax. Birds liked the yellow-banded trees best, to judge from the perchesthey made upon such, but of course, they could not have known that theother, not so fortunate, needed their musical sympathy to make lessgloomy the approaching execution.
"See! Just see!" Nora called, running back from the wild grape-vinecave. "Do come over and see this--little play house. It's perfect as canbe, with vine draperies, and moss carpet, and real wild-rose decoration.Cap led me to it, I guess it's his secret place." She was panting withsheer joy. The woods were new to the girl from the boarding school,where walks were confined to the limits of neuritis and neuralgia as"enjoyed" by the Baily Sisters.
"Cap'll show you," replied Jerry. "He has nothing to do but hunt whileTed and I work for our living."
"Oh, could I help?" Nora felt like an intruder upon their industry.
"Not just today, but pretty soon. Perhaps the day after." This wasanother of Jerry's characteristic replies. Nora understood them betternow.
"But it is real fun--fun to look through that spy glass. Do you havecobwebs in there?"
Asking this brought back to her mind the cobweb nest in the attic.Jerry's reply, however, forestalled further reflection in that directionat the moment.
"Some day, pretty soon, perhaps the day after tomorrow," he laughedagain, "I'll show you all about this and the cobwebs. Ted has some townstuff to attend to; and listen, Bobbs" (he stepped over and whispered inNora's ear), "Ted is a perfect terror if she is held too late in thewoods. She would starve us to death, like as not, if I didn't get backbefore the clock cooled striking. So you and Cap just run along and findout what the fairies want from the village, while we mark a few morespots."
Was there ever such a jolly man? Once again he had quickly avoidedembarrassment to Nora. He would not even let her think she should beuseful.
"Yes," called Mrs. Manton from her position astride a small white birch,"you and Cap have a good time, Nora. He will teach you to explore."
Willingly Nora ran back to the bower she had discovered. Surely it hadbeen fashioned by elves and fairies, for it was perfect in every detail.Unconscious of time, she flitted about making a little window in thewild grape vine, and fashioning a door between the hazel-nut boughs.
A murmuring song escaped her lips, while Cap now and then yelpedsharply, impatient to be understood and receive attention.
"Why, Cap!" asked Nora in reply to one of these outbursts, "I don'tquite understand your language. What is it?"
The big dog was vainly trying to make Nora see a nest of late sparrows.The tiny feathered babies could just stretch their little heads abovethe rim of the straw cup of a nest they cuddled in, and when Cap foundthem he knew he should notify somebody. The bush was so low, although itwas safely sheltered by the thick vines, and a wild trumpet vine loanedtwo beautiful flowers to cheer the little birds during their mother'sabsence. Still, Cap felt certain it was dangerous for such tinycreatures to be there in the very path of any wild, rough animalhappening by.
Nora had never seen such baby birds before. First, she wanted to fondlethem, but Cap gave warning and she desisted. Then, she wanted to feedthem, as if birds could eat the black berries she offered them. Butpresently the mother bird flew into the bower with such a wild, shrillcall, Nora knew her own presence was not desired so near the baby birds,so she followed Cap out into the clearance. As she did she sawapproaching a group of girls, and they wore the Girl Scout uniform.
At the sight something within Nora seemed to tighten up. The girls werecoming straight to the bower and their laughing voices had the strangeeffect of all but chilling Nora.
Without waiting to exchange so much as a smile she called Cap and ranoff to the surveyor's camp.
"Well," she heard one girl exclaim, as she sped away, "one would thinkwe were--Indians."
Nora's ears stung as her cheeks flamed.
"There! Wasn't that just what one might expect? As if a girl couldn't dojust as she pleased in the woodlands! And they were her own CousinJerry's lands too," Nora scoffed.
"What's the matter, Nora?" asked Mrs. Manton, as she panting, sank downon a freshly-cut stump. "You don't mean to tell me you are actuallyafraid of those little girls, just because they wear uniforms?"
"Oh, no, Cousin Ted, I am not afraid of them," her voice would shakesomehow, "but I didn't know them."
"I see. Well, we must all get acquainted in these pretty parts. Thebirds and the furry things never wait for an introduction," replied Ted,kindly.
"Come along with me, Bobbs," called Jerry, who was packing up hisinstruments. "I need help with this chain; it is bound to snarl."
"Jerry!" called out Mrs. Ted rather sharply. "You really must notinterfere every time I attempt to tell Nora something useful. I want herto know the Girl Scouts, and the sooner she makes up her mind to do sothe happier she will be. The Scouts are all over this place you know,Jerry," and the laughter of the girls up at the bower attested to thetruth of that statement. "Anyone who is not interested in Scouting willhave a poor chance of a real vacation in the woodlands," concluded Mrs.Manton.
"But we are going to scout," insisted the man with the tripod on hisshoulder. "The only thing is, we are going to do it in our own way.Isn't that so, Bobbs?"
Young and simple minded as was Nora, she was fully conscious of adifference of opinions regarding her management. Jerry was surely sidingwith her, even in her whims, whereas Ted, mother-like, felt thenecessity of giving advice.
That was it. She had never before known anything the least bitmother-like. Would she find the relationship too irksome?
There was the hint of a tear in her blinking eye when she pulled thekinky tape out for Jerry and felt it snap back into its leather case.After all, things were not exactly as she had pictured them at the Nest.First, she was dragged down from her attic--she felt now she had beendragged down in the very middle of the night by that great, big Vita,and now, there were those horrid Girl Scouts being held up as examplesfor her to follow and imitate. Well, she would never be a Scout. Eachtime the question presented itself she felt more decidedly against it.She would always have big Cousin Jerry to stand by her, and if CousinTed----
"Want to come to town with me, dear?" called the owner of the name shewas opposing.
"Sure she does. She is going to ride Cyclone. Ar
en't you, Bobbs?" Thiswas from Jerry.
"I couldn't ride a big horse," faltered the confused girl.
"We will go in our handsome ca--our little tame flivver," interruptedTed. "When you want to ride a horse you will have plenty of time topractice." Mrs. Manton had assembled her tools. Nora marvelled at thestrong hands that could so skillfully wield the sharp hatchet and thedangerous-looking trimming knife. Into the loop at her belt Tedcarelessly slipped the glittering tools, and as she did so Nora recalledthe sight of the dainty hands she had been accustomed to admiring. Whatwould the ladies who visited the school say to a person like Cousin Ted?
They were ready to leave for the cottage. Over the hill the Girl Scoutswere calling their mysterious "Wha-hoo," and to Nora it sounded like acall to battle. What had at first been merely an indifference was nowassuming the proportions of actual dislike. How was Nora to know she wasa very much spoiled little girl? And how was she to guess what the costof her change of heart would mean to her?
She was a total stranger to the word "snob." Her training had been onestraight line of avoiding this, that, and the other thing; but as fordoing this, that and everything, no place was given in the curriculum.
Mrs. Manton, herself a product of the most modern college, knew theweakness of little Nora's character at a glance, but to introducestrength and purpose! To bend the vine without crushing the tendrils!
This very first day was marked with a danger signal. If Nora slightedthe Scouts, they who came almost daily to Ted for information andcompanionship, there was sure to be trouble. It was this surety thatprompted Ted to say with decision:
"The sooner Nora gets acquainted the happier she will be."
Meanwhile the girls of Chickadee Patrol had all but forgotten about thestranger. They were after specimens and had discovered more than one newbird's nest. Cameras were clicking, notes being taken, and so manyinteresting matters were being attended to, it was not strange that thesight of one little girl in a pretty blue frock, with a disdainfulexpression on her otherwise attractive face, might have been forgottenfor the time.
If there were really fairies in those woods they should have intervenedjust then, for it would have been so much easier for Nora to have metthe Scouts as companions, whereas she, holding away from the very ideaof organization, kept building up a dislike which threatened to causeher much unhappiness.
The woodlands were broad enough for both to roam, but it was inevitablethat both should meet some day, and, under what circumstances?