“Yes, if we allot each girl so much space and no more,” calculated Marjorie. “And we hardly need to put up our tents!”
“Suppose it pours?” asked Alice.
“Alice, you’re always bringing up too many objections!” cried Ethel. “We have to take chances on a trip like this.”
“But suppose we can be seen from the road,” persisted the other. “I’d hate to have the tourists watch me snore!”
“No one can possibly see us! And besides, we can use our tents to cover the ground, and keep us dry.”
In the end Marjorie’s common sense prevailed as it usually did, and the girls locked their cars and prepared for sleep. They managed to stretch mosquito netting over themselves, from tree to tree, and settled down to the spots which they were assigned. Marjorie slept nearest to the opening, with her revolver at her side.
It was some time before she was able to go to sleep; besides the occasional sound of a passing car, she imagined that she could hear footsteps, and she kept listening intently. The sky had entirely cleared now, and the stars were shining; as she lay there on the canvas she kept opening her eyes and gazing up at them. She did not feel in the least afraid, camping out there in the open, but she sincerely hoped that nothing would happen for the other girls’ sake. Anything out of the ordinary might throw some of them into a nervous state, which up to the present they had been able to avoid. Once this calm were disturbed, it might be very difficult to induce them to camp in the lonely places along the road. And Marjorie preferred them to the regular sites.
So she continued to listen intently; once she was almost sure that she heard a machine stop out on the road. Not wishing to arouse the others, she cautiously raised herself to a sitting position and peered out through the trees. But she distinguished only the two reds lights of the silent cars by the side of the road.
She was just about to lie down again when she thought that she heard a faint scuffling noise, which seemed to come from the direction of their cars, and she made up her mind to investigate. Managing to creep through the enclosure without causing any disturbance, she stepped out clear of the trees. Accustomed now to the darkness, she looked down towards the road, and to her sudden alarm, identified the shadowy outline of a third car, behind both of theirs, and carrying no light. A sense of fear took possession of her, and she grasped the tree to steady herself; then, in another moment the car started quietly, and drove away. When it was almost out of sight she saw it flash on its lights.
The tree branch at her side rustled slightly, and she turned sharply around. Ethel Todd stood at the opening beside her.