The rest of the ride was comparatively easy. At three o’clock the party came to a stop in a pleasant place where a few pine trees afforded a little protection. The men began to unpack, and to make a fire, while the cook prepared dinner. Everyone was hungry; except for some chocolate and crackers, the girls had not tasted food since breakfast.
Later in the day the whole party except Mr. Hilton and Arthur walked up to a higher level to see the sunset and the surrounding country. To the scouts, who were used to such entirely different scenery in the East, it was a magnificent spectacle. They could see for miles in almost every direction. The flowers too were wonderful, so bright and so beautiful, seeming to grow right up against the snow drifts.
Marjorie and Daisy stood together with linked arms. Both had the same thoughts—how vast the great heavens were, how great the mountains, and how small and insignificant each individual was. Both naturally thought of Olive, and wondered whether they would ever find her.
Mr. and Mrs. Hilton had decided that it would be best for the whole party to go to bed early that night; so soon after the girls returned to the camp, they began to make their preparations. They had a big climb before them on the morrow, and they would need all the rest they could get.
The fire, which had been replenished, was burning brightly, and the girls were glad to note that their tents were nearest to it, for already the air was growing cold. Marjorie was a little lame and sore from the riding, and she too was glad to go to bed. But if possible, she meant to get up early the next day, in time to do a little fishing before breakfast.
She fell asleep almost immediately in spite of her hard bed, and slept soundly all night. Awakening before five o’clock, she got up quietly, put on her boots, and hurried off to wash. In five minutes she had her line, and had started for the fishing hole.
Everything seemed strange and silent in the early morning; no one else was stirring, not even the cook. The sun, which was just appearing in all its glory over the distant mountain peaks, shone upon the snow and made it glisten like the tinsel on a Christmas tree. Marjorie watched the spectacle in speechless wonder.
After she had dropped her line into the water, she waited patiently for perhaps a quarter of an hour, but without any success. Suddenly she felt lonely. Why had she not asked Ethel or Alice to come with her? They were always anxious for adventure, and they would have loved the sunrise. The minutes dragged on, and she began to grow weary. Perhaps it would be best for her to give up her plan, if she could get back to the camp without being seen, so long as she did not seem able to catch any fish. But, glancing at the sun, she decided it would be too late now to hope to avoid the cook, and of course he would tell of her failure.
So she decided to remain on the bank a little longer, and hope for better luck. She sat still for a long time, allowing her thoughts to wander in many directions. She thought of the scout troop, and her plans for the summer, of the radio, of John Hadley and their misunderstanding, and most of all of Daisy’s sister.
Probably an hour had passed, when she was suddenly aroused by the sound of footsteps behind her. She looked up hopefully, but was only disappointed. It was the one person in camp whom she did not care to see: it was Kirk Smith!