“That ith right. Laugh!” jeered Tommy. “I gueth it ith funny, but I don’t thee it. Maybe I’ll laugh, to-morrow.”
“It is really the most laughable situation I ever heard of,” admitted the guardian.
“One side of it, yes,” agreed Harriet. “The other side isn’t so funny. We must think of getting out of here. All our plans have come to nothing. The boys have passed us. I am afraid we shan’t be able to catch up with them again unless we can get a start before long.”
The bulls, attracted by the singing, had turned, now facing the road. They regarded the boys menacingly, but the Tramp Club did not see them. Now the animals once more turned toward the trees that held the girls. The beasts resumed their bellowing and pawing and moved up under the trees, tossing their heads, issuing challenge after challenge to the girls to come down. But the challenges were not accepted. Harriet regarded the beasts frowningly. The other girls gazed at them in terror.
“Now, Harriet Burrell, as you wouldn’t allow me to call the boys, what do you propose to do? Remain up in a tree all night?” demanded the guardian.
“By no means.”
“I don’t dare thleep up here,” complained Tommy. “What if I thhould fall out?”
“You wouldn’t have far to fall,” answered Margery.
“Oh, wouldn’t it be awful,” gasped Hazel, “if we were to fall out of these trees?”
“The animals will go to sleep themselves after dark, I am sure. We shall be able to get away then,” replied Harriet wisely.