“Well, if they want to tire themselves out by scrambling up there, let them. I think——”
“Here’s a quiet place—a regular bosky dell,” laughed Luke, and he led the way.
And then, for a time, the murmuring talk of the young people mingled with the murmur of the water as it slipped over the mossy, green stones.
It was, as might have been expected, Tess and Dot who put an end to what seemed an ideal period, for Ruth soon heard the voice of Tess calling:
“Where are you? Where are you?”
“Oh, I wonder if anything has happened!” Ruth exclaimed, with a startled glance at Luke, who sat beside her on a mossy bank.
“What’s wrong?” he cried, his stronger voice echoing through the forest.
Back came the unromantic answer:
“We’re hungry!”
“Oh, is it noon?” asked Ruth, looking at her wrist watch, and, finding that it was half-past twelve, she added: “No wonder the poor things are looking for us. We’ll eat!”