“Well, don’t scare Lucy any more, no matter what you do,” begged his mother. “First I know, she’ll leave and then we’ll have no cook.”
“I’ll be careful,” promised Ted.
Janet had packed her dolls, Teddy his toys, and Trouble had filled a box with odds and ends of things he wanted to take to the woods. But afterward Mrs. Martin went over all the children’s boxes and took out a great many things without telling them about it.
“They’ll never miss them,” she said to her husband. “But if I let them take all they wanted there would be no room for anything else.”
“Yes, they have queer ideas,” he agreed. “I don’t suppose you found your diamond locket?” he asked.
“No,” his wife replied, with a sigh. “I have given it up. I don’t say much about it, for I don’t want Janet to feel too bad about losing it. As I should never have let her take it, it is as much my fault as hers.”
The trip to Mount Major was to be made, as I have told you, in Mr. Martin’s large automobile. In this would also be carried the baggage and some food and supplies that would last the party until the things sent by express had arrived from Cresco.
It was a long day’s travel by automobile from Cresco to Mount Major, and so Mr. Martin planned to get an early morning start on the day that was set for the trip.
“We will have an early breakfast here,” said Mr. Martin. “We will lunch on the road. And if we have luck we’ll have supper in our bungalow in the woods.”
“Oh, I just know we’ll have the loveliest fun!” cried Janet.