“Never tell me that, Miss Pace! Never tell me that! Old Haystack’s got muscle and he’s got grit. You’ll see. You’ve set me on doing it more than ever, Miss Pace.”
“It might be all very well to carry him for a mile,” said the practical Azalea, “but just think of doing it for miles and miles—for twenty miles.”
“We won’t have to carry him that far. Say we rig up a hammock and carry him ten miles. Then we’ll reach a wagon road. Meantime, you-all ride ahead, and have a wagon waiting for us. Put a mattress on it with plenty of pillows and comfortables.”
“And we’ll bring along something to sustain him,” added Aunt Zillah, forgetting all about her objections, “and some refreshments for you and Keefe—”
“And the first thing you know we’ll have him at Bee Tree.”
“Then,” put in Carin, “we could get the drawing room on a Pullman for him, and you and Keefe could go with him to Asheville.”
“Sure,” said Mr. Thompson. “Sure we can do it!”
“And is Mrs. Panther willing?” asked Miss Zillah.
“You can’t tell whether she is or whether she ain’t,” said Mr. Thompson. “She’s fierce as a tiger. But then she’s lived like a tiger—only the hunting ain’t been good. Say, ladies, are you with us?”
“Oh, we are,” said Miss Zillah fervently. “It will be like taking a man from a living tomb. Of course I can see there are many difficulties, but probably it is best not to think too much about them.”