“You couldn’t hit a barn door if you were inside the barn,” Carol teased.
“You couldn’t do any better!” was Phyllis’ spirited retort. “Give us a chance, we’ll show you.”
The sun fell farther and farther in the west. The girls nervously idled away the time, keeping anxious eyes on the hill opposite where they expected Tom and his companions to reappear. But the minutes flew and the others did not come. The sun dropped from sight, leaving a trail of glorious colors in his wake. From the east, night like a pearly gray blanket covered the sky.
Virginia sliced bacon in the frying pan over the fire. Gale made coffee and soon inviting aromas of their supper drifted on the air.
“The smell of food will bring Tom if nothing else does,” Virginia declared laughingly.
But it grew later. Darkness with its impenetrable shadows closed down. The girls huddled about the campfire, watching the fantastic shadows the flames threw over the tents. They had had their supper and put aside things to be warmed when the others returned.
“Do you suppose they could have gotten lost like we did?” Phyllis asked after a long and heavy silence.
“They had flashlights,” put in Madge. “They shouldn’t have.”
“Ah, but you don’t know that place!” Phyllis shivered, “It gives me the creeps to think of it.”
“What’s that?” Virginia cried suddenly.