“Don’t you mind about my jawbone, miss!” snapped Grace.
“Oh, don’t let’s fight, girls,” Mina said, soothingly.
“Better a dinner of herbs with contentment than a stalled ox and trouble on the side,” misquoted Frank.
The six girls quickly shot their canoes out into the stream. At this point the current was swift; but above Denton the river broadened into wide pools through which the current flowed sluggishly and it would be easier paddling.
The girls set into a steady stroke, led by their captain, and passed the pretty town in a few minutes. Wyn could see the upper windows of her home and noted a white cloth fluttering from one. She knew that her mother was standing there with the field-glasses and Baby May. Perhaps the little one was trying to see “sister” through the strong glasses.
So Wyn pulled off her cap and swung it over her head and the six canoes immediately fell out of alignment.
“Don’t do that, Wyn!” shouted Bess. “Those boys will catch up with us.”
“Well, we want them to; don’t we?” asked the captain of the Go-Aheads, good-naturedly. “We’re going to lunch together, and if we make the poor boys work too hard they’ll eat every crumb we’ve got and leave nothing for poor little we-uns.”
“So that’s why you made us bring all this food?” demanded Bess, in disgust. “Can’t those boys feed themselves?”
“Oh, they’ll do their share,” Wyn replied, laughing. “You’ll see. Don’t you see how heavily laden Tubby’s canoe is? I warrant he has enough luncheon aboard for a small army.”