Cathalina’s discouragement over not passing the canoe test was gone and she hurried into her clothes, planning happily just what sort of a conversation she would conduct, delighted to be a good camper and help in something she knew about, if she couldn’t bring in that canoe! “But I’ll do it tomorrow, Hilary,” she told Hilary that night in recounting the day’s exploits, “see if I don’t!” And Cathalina did.
That afternoon there was a hare and hounds chase. During rest hour some of the girls tore paper into pieces, to be dropped here and there for the trail. One of the councillors led the hares, who were to have a good start before the hounds, in charge of another councillor or two, should take up the chase. By the time the chase was ended there were few of the girls who did not know the ins and outs of the pine grove, the rocks, the meadows, the lane, and the trail along the back water.
Of the Greycliff girls, Hilary, Lilian and Virginia were among the hounds, that started after a certain definite time had elapsed. Everybody was talking at once and excitement was growing. As they knew that the start was to be made through the pine grove, the line of hounds headed that way from the club house.
“Here’s the first paper!” shouted Virgie. “Come on! Bow-wow!”
Through the bushes, over the roots and rocks, slipping through the birches in what Hilary called Warblerville, they hurried. It was there that a dainty little redstart sat on the edge of a tiny nest to greet them the first day they wandered about Merrymeeting.
“Mercy! Do I have to climb that rock?” said one of the little girls.
“Over you go,” and with two or three helping hands to boost, up she went, to slide down on the other side.
“Here’s a clear trail,” cried Frances, and the running hounds followed to the middle of a big meadow, only to find that the trail ended there and to return to the place where they had entered the field.
“Hilary, you go that way, Lilian that, and I’ll go this way,” called Frances, “and see if we can find the trail more quickly.” Lilian found it and beckoned to the rest. At the edge of a ravine they paused.
“I bet they never ran down there,” said Virgie. “They’d have to get right out again; let’s go around and pick up the trail.” But her plan was overruled. The whole party climbed or slid down, only to find that Virgie’s surmise was correct and that the hares had probably let one or two of their number fix this blind trail, while the rest of them went on to drop the paper in another direction.