The visit of Blue Wolf marked the beginning of pleasantly exciting days at the Heights. As a caller, he could hardly be classed a social success. The very sight of the bevy of bright-faced girls with their merry ways and eager questions filled him with intense embarrassment. No one but himself was aware of this, however. Outwardly, he preserved a wooden dignity that was admirable to behold. True to Miss Drexal’s prediction, he soon shook the dust of the living room from his restless feet, and strode majestically out of the Heights to be swallowed up in the soft summer darkness.
He appeared again the next morning for breakfast. Afterward, he and Miss Drexal entered into solemn conclave in the living room regarding the details of the proposed trip. It was well toward noon when he took leave of her, entrusted with the funds necessary to secure camping equipment, and to hire horses and a vehicle sufficiently large to accommodate the party on their journey from the town of Tower to the borders of Vermilion Lake, where they were to make camp.
At luncheon that day little else was talked of save the coming excursion into the wilderness. Even Blanche Shirly exerted herself to ask a question or two regarding it.
“Do tell us all about Vermilion Lake, Miss Drexal,” begged Sarah. “I never heard of such a lake until I came up here.”
“I’m afraid the noble study of geography has been wasted on Sarah,” put in Frances slyly.
“Do you know where it is?” challenged Sarah.
“Somewhere around here,” fenced Frances airily.
“That answer shows just how much you know about it, which isn’t any more than I do,” retorted Sarah with a derisive chuckle.
Miss Drexal met this spirited exchange of comments with an indulgent smile. “There is a great deal to be told of Vermilion Lake,” she began. “It lies about a hundred miles north of Duluth in the very center of the iron district. In fact, iron was first found in Minnesota in the town of Tower, which is situated on the lake itself. That happened in 1880, and Tower was nothing then but a straggling settlement. Long before that time, it was a trading post of the famous Hudson Bay Company. The Indians used to come there from the north by a series of small waterways, in canoes, which were usually loaded with furs. From there they would pack their loads on sleds drawn by dogs, and go south by the Old Vermilion Trail to Fond du Lac, at the head of Lake Superior. At the time when iron was discovered, the few inhabitants of Tower used to walk to Duluth. It took them four days to make the trip, and they went by way of what they called a ‘tote’ road, cut through the woods.”
“Glad I wasn’t living in Tower in those days,” put in the irrepressible Frances. “It was a long way to Duluth, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” agreed Jane. “Don’t interrupt Miss Drexal,” she added severely.
“After iron was found, mining was started at Tower and the village grew,” resumed the registrar. “Later, mining operations were transferred to Jasper Rock, about two miles from Tower. By the way, Jasper Peak is the highest elevation in Minnesota. At that, it is nothing but a ragged, round hill. With the taking away of the mining interest, Tower stood still. It is only within the last few years that it has begun to prosper again on account of the building of two very large saw mills on the shores of Vermilion Lake. That is about all I can say of Tower.
“Vermilion Lake is much more interesting. It is only about thirty-five miles long as the bird flies, but it has so many unexpected twists and turns that it is said to have almost eight hundred miles of shore line. Then, too, it is thickly dotted with islands. I have been told that altogether there are three hundred and fifty-five of them. Some, of course, are so small as to measure only a few square yards. Others comprise several thousand acres of woodland. Along the shores, the woods are not so thick, due to lumbering and also forest fires. Blue Wolf tells me that the place he has selected for our camp is quite heavily wooded, however. It is about ten miles from Tower and we shall go there by wagon. He is going to arrange for us to have two canoes, too, so we can paddle about among the nearby islands as much as we please.”
An ecstatic sigh swept the listeners at this last information.
“Won’t it be glorious?” breathed Ruth. “I do hope Blue Wolf will teach us canoeing. I’ve always been crazy to learn it.”
“So have I,” declared Betty and Marian in concert.
“I can manage a canoe,” proudly asserted Jane. “It’s as easy as falling off a log.”
“I think I could manage to upset one,&rdq............