“What is the pleasure of the Equitable Eight?” Hardly had Blanche’s footsteps died away when Miss Drexal plunged briskly into the programme for the day. It was with secret relief that the eight young women turned their attention to a pleasanter subject. Though only one of them had taken an active part in the disagreement with Blanche, they all felt embarrassed that such a state of affairs had leaped up on their first morning at the Heights.
“We are in the hands of our hostess.” Emmy made a graceful little gesture of deference. “The question is, what would you like us to do, Miss Drexal?”
“Suppose we go picnicking in the woods, just back of the cottage,” proposed their hostess. “I wish you to begin early to get acquainted with them. My sister and I have explored them for perhaps five miles in a northerly direction. Now that we are strong in numbers, we can go deeper into them. It will give us practice in trail blazing. We can pack a luncheon, start in an hour from now, and spend the day as good explorers, keeping in mind that we must start back in time to reach the Heights by sunset.”
“That will be splendid,” glowed Ruth. “Ever since I first saw those woods, I’ve been longing to go into them.”
“Is it perfectly safe for us to tackle them without a guide?” asked Anne timidly. “I’ve read ever so many blood-curdling tales of people who got hopelessly lost in northern forests, and had all sorts of horrible adventures.”
“But we don’t intend to get lost,” stoutly declared venturesome Jane, always ready for the unexplored. “All we have to do is to blaze a proper trail, and keep together. When folks get lost in the woods, it’s generally because they stray away from one another. It would be hard to lose this noisy crowd.”
“These woods are not dense enough to warrant getting lost. In the past few years, the lumbering business has served to cut away a great deal of the timber up here. Later on, we shall take to the woods with an Indian guide, whom I know, to look out for us. I have planned a trip to Vermilion Lake. It lies about a hundred miles from here. We will go by train to Tower, a town situated on the lake. Our guide will meet us there, and show us some real forest country. We shall be away for at least two weeks, and sleep under tents. Does that please you?”
The jubilant cries which arose at this announcement gave signal proof of the pleasure of the eight girls. The alluring prospect of the trip was doubly enhanced by the promise of a real Indian guide.
“What is the name of our guide, Miss Drexal?” eagerly inquired Ruth.
“His name is Blue Wolf. He is a Cheyenne, and his grandfather was a famous Cheyenne chief. He lives in a lodge about twenty miles from here, and spends most of his time hunting and trapping in Canada. He was a firm friend of my father’s, who once nursed him through a long illness when they were both young men. He swore allegiance then to my father, and has ever since been a faithful friend to our family. He is a quaint person, middle-aged but so strong and rugged he looks almost like a young man. He is very proud, and dignified, with little to say. When he does talk, his English is rather broken. He is quite easily offended, so you had best treat him with a certain amount of respect. Taking a party of girls on a camping trip will be a new experience for him. I had some difficulty in persuading him to promise his services. It was only to please a Drexal that he consented.”
“We shall have to practice beforehand,” asserted Frances gleefully. “Jane, you may be Blue Wolf, and we will pose as your respectful admirers. You can say ‘How’ when you are pleased with us, and ‘Ugh’ when we don’t come up to your expectations. You can wear one of those striped portieres, that hang in the living room door, for a blanket, and I will thoughtfully pluck a few feathers from that big duster in the kitchen and make you a head-piece. Won’t that be nice?” Frances was captivated by the cleverness of her own idea, and smirked patronizingly at her selected victim.
“I’ll do nothing of the kind,” balked Jane. “Wear your own blankets and feather dusters! They’ll become you better than me.”
“I doubt it,” retorted Frances with a droll significance, that brought a reluctant grin even to Jane’s face.
“If we are going on a hike this morning, we’d better be making ready,” reminded practical Betty. Unconsciously, her eyes strayed to the doorway, through which Blanche had lately disappeared.
Reading their expression aright, Miss Drexal rose from her chair. “I will tell Blanche,” she said. “Ruth, will you go to the kitchen, and ask Martha to pack the luncheon at once?”
“May I help her!” pleaded Marian. “That is, if you think she won’t mind.”
“Oh, let me help, too!” cried Emmy.
“She will be glad of your help,” smiled the registrar, secretly pleased both at Marian’s thoughtful request, and Emmy’s readiness to be of service. Marian was a girl after her own heart. As for Emmy, she marveled at the steady effort toward usefulness that the once indolent French girl was daily putting forth. At no far distant date, she foresaw that both young women could lay just claim to the high office of Torch Bearer.
The session ended in a grand scurrying in all directions to make ready for the hike. Miss Drexal climbed the stairs to the room, which she and Blanche were occupying. She had taken Blanche under her wing for wise reasons of her own. Betty, Anne and Jane shared one room; Emmy, Ruth and Marian another. Sarah and Frances claimed a smaller sleeping chamber at the end of the hall. As there were but four upstairs rooms in the cottage, this had been the only possible arrangement. It was highly satisfactory to all concerned, save Blanche Shirly. Privately, she considered it a cross, rather than an honor, to share a room with Miss Drexal. She would have preferred being with Ruth and Marian. To her, they were the least to be feared of the eight girls. She flattered herself that she could wind them around her finger.
Miss Drexal paused to rap at her own door, which was closed, and waited until Blanche’s indifferent, “Come in” bade her enter. “We have decided to go on a picnic in the woods,” she said. “We shall start as soon as possible. Can you be ready within the next half hour?” Noting that Blanche was still wearing her b............