"I never had any idea it could be so beautiful," Mary Lee said in reply to a question of Mrs. Anderson's.
"Well, dear, you will find it even more so as we climb the Adirondacks. We are to do that from now until we reach our point. Let's all have breakfast, at least all of us who are awake and ready for it. I suppose you early risers must be starved."
The three chums suddenly realized how hungry they were. It had not occurred to them until the subject was mentioned.
It was almost nine o'clock when the party reached their station. The Anderson camp was twelve miles away and the two automobiles waiting for them took almost an hour to climb to it.
Mary Lee as well as the rest of the girls found the whole trip a panorama of delights.
The country was wild and seemed to have escaped civilization.
"To think," said one of the girls, "that a place as wild as this should be so near so big a city. It's hard to imagine, isn't it?"
The camp picked by Dr. Anderson was truly in a wonderful spot. Far from human habitation it was hidden from the narrow road up which the automobiles had come. It was three-quarters of the way to the top of Mount Hope. Nearby Lake Ormond, a small body of water was almost hidden by trees and bushes all about it.
The girls quickly changed to clothes that were comfortable and suitable. Some of them found hammocks, some walked down to the lake.
Dr. Anderson had told them that there were no fixed plans and that each one could do the thing that seemed most desirable.