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 most wonderful time, and met the most charming people. I never saw anything so beautiful as the village of Lenox. We had a splendid view of it from the tower 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 plenty of 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, quiet time 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 a coon hunt up on the hill. Mr. Latham says it is just the thing to do on these early autumn nights. All the people we met at his house this afternoon 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 a jolly lark?”
“I don’t approve of it, Ruth,” said Miss Sallie. “I am sure young girls never before took part in such an excursion. I shouldn’t allow it, except that Mr. Latham and his sister both assured me it was done by the best people in Lenox. Then the English ambassador’s daughters are to join you.”
Ruth looked solemnly at Bab and Grace. The girls were secretly amused at Miss Sallie’s social ambitions.
“Mollie,” Ruth explained, “we did meet two such nice English girls this afternoon—Gwendolin and Dorothy Morton—and an awfully funny, little man, a secretary at the German embassy. They say that ambassadors are as common in Lenox, in the season, as millionaires!”
“Did you like Reginald Latham to-day, Bab?” Mollie inquired, as the two sisters walked into their bedroom together.
“Why, yes,” admitted Bab. “I liked him as usual. He is a peaceable kind of man, but rather queer. He is too learned for me. His mother seems terribly vain of him. She does nothing but talk about his inventive skill. I believe she encourages the airship business just to get on the good side of his uncle. Mr. Winthrop Latham is simply crazy on the subject and does not seem to care about anything else. And he must have a tremendous lot of money. But Mrs. Latham, the German sister-in-law, as good as told Aunt Sallie she and her son were dreadfully poor. They had always been obliged to live on the income Mr. Winthrop Latham allowed them, since her husband lost his money. But I shouldn’t think she and her son 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 much time out in that shed looking at airship models? You know you did not understand them in the least; but our host and his blessed nephew were certainly pleased at your interest. Mrs. Latham showed Aunt Sallie and Ruth and me over the house. They have an art gallery and rooms full of curios, just like a museum. The house is a perfect palace.”
“There was an older Mr. Latham once!” Ruth announced, sticking her head in from the door of her bedroom to join in the conversation. “But I don’t think he was a credit to the family. They are silent about him. I asked one of the girls we met this afternoon if Mr. Winthrop Latham and his nephew 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 in the Latham family history. Who is? Nor does she care a fig for Mr. Reginald Latham and his toy balloons. But, Mollie, I was endeavoring to tell you about the wonderful curios they have in their house. The late lamented brother, we were informed, has left behind him one of the most famous collection of Indian relics in the world. If I am obliged to mention the stupid subject of family history, I must say that the Lathams are an old family up in this part of the country. They do not belong to the ‘newly rich.’ The queer elder brother devoted his life to the study of the history of the Indians in this part of the world, and has written a book about them.”
“Grace, have you finished making your speech?” inquired Ruth, with mock politeness. “Poor Mollie must be bored stiff with all this useless information. How did you spend the afternoon, dear? We have talked so much about coon hunts and Indian relics and the Lathams that you have had no chance to answer.”
“Oh, I took a nap!” responded Mollie, vaguely, and led the way into supper.
Late that evening, as the girls sat by the fire, they heard a sudden knocking at their cabin door. Miss Sallie, who was in bed, bounded out again. For the first time since their arrival in the woods the camping party 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 one answered. Ceally came hurriedly in from the kitchen. Miss Sallie stood at her door.
The knocks were repeated in quick succession.
Ceally had taken the precaution, earlier in the evening, to close and bolt all the doors and windows except one. The shutters of this were open on the outside.
“Sh-sh!” whispered Bab, creeping on tiptoes to the window. Before their front door, she could dimly outline the figures of two men, who were evidently arguing and protesting about something.
“Open! Open!” cried the voices again. “We are friends, and will do you no harm.”
“Then go away at once!” Miss Sallie commanded.
There was a muffled sound outside the door. Could it be laughter? Then a voice called more roughly. “How long must we wait?”
Ruth and Bab looked at each other blankly. Miss Stuart had gone back into her own room. “What on earth shall we do? Shall we open the door?” Ruth inquired.
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 to shoot either one of the guns very well at present, but, if you will hold your rifle pointed toward the door, I shall try to shoulder this heavy shotgun. Oh, I have a splendid idea!”
“Out with it, child!” ordered Ruth. “I believe the knocking on the door will 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 of knowing 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 the men were all away at work in the cornfields? The women dressed up in their husbands’ clothes and frightened the Indians away. Ruth, let’s disguise ourselves as men and then let Ceally open the door.”
“Bab, you and Ruth are both crazy!” protested Mollie, half-laughing, and half-frightened.
Bang! Bang! The blows on the door were tremendous. “If you don’t let us in, you’ll be sorry!” called one of the men.
Bab had already found an old hat of Naki’s conveniently near. Ceally, who was giggling nervously, produced a hunting jacket of her husband’s, which had 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 extraordinary costume, Ruth had torn down a squirrel skin, which some previous hunter had tacked on their cabin wall and twisted it around her head so that the tail hung down to one side. Then she slipped on her own leather coat, which she gave a more dilapidated appearance, by wearing it wrong side out.
Both girls got behind chairs to hide their skirts.
“Good gracious, Ruth!” giggled Bab, in spite of her excitement. “You look like Daniel Boone.”
During their preparation not a word was heard from Miss Sallie, who was closeted in her own room.
“Ceally, open the door!” cried Ruth, raising her rifle and leveling it in front 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 and the 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 a word they dropped into two chairs.
“Oh, oh, oh!” they shouted. “Did you ever see anything in the world so funny? Ralph, look at Ruth!” cried Hugh.
“Ralph Ewing and Hugh Post, where did you come from?” demanded four girls’ voices together. “We took you for highwaymen.”
Bab set down her shotgun and Ruth her rifle. Both girls began pulling off their 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 neatly arranged appeared at the door. Highwaymen or no highwaymen, Miss Sallie had no intention of appearing before strange men without being properly dressed. Now she was mistress of herself and of the situation.
Both Huge Post and Ralph Ewing stopped laughing when they saw Miss Sallie’s face. She did not appear overpleased to see her two young friends, whose doings were fully described in the preceding volume. “The Automobile 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, without informing us who you were?”
“Ruth,” continued Miss Sallie severely, “what are you and Barbara doing in those clothes? Take them off at once.”
“Please, ma’am,” responded Bab meekly, but with a twinkle in her eye, “we dressed up as men to frighten the highwaymen.”
“You are enough to frighten them, I am sure,” retorted Miss Stuart scornfully.
Here, Ralph Ewing spoke in his most charming manner: “Miss Sallie, we do owe you an apology and we make it with all our hearts. We had no intention of playing any pranks when we came up the hill to see you. Several days ago we were informed that ‘The Automobile Girls’ were camping in the Berkshires. Well, Hugh and I are on our way to Boston to join Mrs. Post, and——”
“Ralph, do let me do my share of the apologizing,” interrupted Hugh. “See here, Miss Sallie, this nonsense to-night is all my fault. Ralph was dead against my pounding at the door and refusing to give our names; but I thought it would be fun to stir the girls up. I knew two such valiant girls as Ruth and Barbara would not be really frightened, even if we had been a whole band of outlaws. It was a stupid practical joke and I am ashamed of it.”
“But how did you find us, Hugh?” put in Ruth, who was embarrassed by her aunt’s lack of cordiality to their old Newport friends.
“Please, Aunt Sallie, say you’ll forgive us!” Hugh pleaded. “See how many miles we have traveled to see you. We would have been here in the broad daylight, only one of the tires in my machine would get a puncture. The man at the garage told us which hill to climb to find you. We met your guide coming down the hill, and he gave us further instructions. So here we are! Aren’t you just a little glad to see us?”
“Of course, I am,” laughed Aunt Sallie, amiably. “But there is one thing certain: you can’t get down our hill again to-night, and we have no place to 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’t her usual charming self. Of course the boys shan’t go down the hill again to-night. I don’t know where they will sleep, either; but Bab will bring her fertile brain to bear upon the situation.”
“Why, Miss Stuart!” Ralph spoke in relieved tones. “Is this why you are not pleased to see us? We expect to go down the hill a little later. On our way up we stopped at a farm house, and the people promised to take us in for the night. We’ll come back early in the morning, since Hugh and I must 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 the jolliest lark. We are to have a coon hunt up on the hill with some acquaintances we have just made in Lenox. They are to have supper with us, 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 lounge here 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 the fire.”
“May we, Miss Sallie?” Hugh queried.
“As you like, boys,” declared Miss Stuart, now completely restored to good humor.
“Then let’s stay by all means!” urged Ralph. “What should we expect to sleep on except the floor or the ground? This is the most effete camping party 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 the mater 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 up to your hut before it was too late, we didn’t have time to get any dinner. Could you, would you, just give us each a hunk of bread to stay our 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 eggs and bacon in no time, the best you ever tasted. Our cook has gone to bed.”
“Let’s have a feast for everybody,” proposed Bab. “May we, Miss Sallie? I am dreadfully hungry again. I haven’t had anything to eat for at least two hours and a half.”
“Come, turn in then, everybody,” Ruth called cheerily. “Here, Bab, you undertake 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, set the table and talk to Aunt Sallie, while I fry my precious bacon.”
“I never heard of such an extraordinary combination of things to eat. You will ruin your digestions,” was Miss Sallie’s comment. But she ate just as much as anyone else.
At midnight the girls were at last in bed. Hugh and Ralph, both wrapped in blankets, were in blissful sleep before the camp fire. They had scorned to accept the offer of the couch, wishing to enjoy camp life to the fullest extent. So peace followed good cheer in the hut.