It had been Miss Betsey Taylor's special desire to drink the waters of the famous sulphur well. She had heard of it as a cure for all the ills of the flesh.
When the riding party dismounted from their horses Madge and Phil espied Miss Betsey peering down the old well. Madge had visited sulphur wells before. "Want a drink, Miss Betsey?" she inquired innocently, coming up to the old lady. She decided to revenge herself on Miss Betsey for the excellent daily advice that the maiden lady bestowed upon her.
Miss Betsey looked pleased. "Certainly. I intend to drink the sulphur water all day, and to have some of it put up in bottles to take back home with me. I can't say that I exactly like the odor." Miss Betsey's aquiline nose was slightly tilted.
"Here you are," interrupted Madge, passing Miss Betsey a glass of the sulphur water.
Miss Betsey took one swallow and gave a hurried gasp. "Take it away, child," she urged faintly. "It is the most horrible thing I ever tasted in my life." The old maid's eyes almost twinkled. "I think, my dear, that I will cure my nerves in a pleasanter way," she decided.
Miss Jenny Ann hurried over to them. "What has become of Nellie, Madge?" she questioned immediately.
The little captain shook her head. "She will be along soon. She and Harry Sears were loitering a little behind the rest of us."
But Eleanor and Harry did not arrive. An hour passed, then Miss Jenny Ann and the girls began to feel uneasy. It was growing late. The time had long since come for supper. Finally Jack Bolling suggested that he ride back to see what had become of the wanderers. In the meantime the supper was spread out on the grass. No one ate much. The whole party kept gazing up the road. It was nearly dark when Jack Bolling returned—alone. He had galloped back over the way they had come for three miles without seeing a sign of either Eleanor or Harry.