Margery did climb. She went up the ladder faster than she ever had climbed before, wailing and threatening every foot of the way. Tommy was delightedly dancing about on the barn floor during all this time, uttering a perfect volley of unintelligible lisps and jeering cries. Margery reached the top of the ladder and flung herself panting on the hay.
“Be careful not to come too near the edge,” warned Harriet, hurriedly clambering down. Buster made no reply. She was too much out of breath to say a word. “Now, let’s see what you can do, Tommy. See if you can do any better,” chuckled Harriet.
“You jutht thee me climb. I’ll thhow you. I gueth I know how to climb. Buthter ith too fat to climb a ladder. Don’t you hit me. I’ll kick you if you do,” was her parting admonition as she began running up the ladder. Rather to the amazement of her companions, Grace made the climb to the haymow without the least difficulty. Only once did her foot slip from a rung of the ladder. Grace recovered it with no more than a smothered little exclamation.
“You next, Miss Elting,” nodded Harriet.
“I will wait until you get up. I wish to look after the packs first. What would we do were we to lose them? We shouldn’t have a thing to eat for breakfast, and goodness knows when we will reach a store to purchase food.”
It was not long afterwards that the party of young women were fussing about in the hay, making their beds for the night. This consisted in leveling off the hay and spreading their blankets. Some little time was occupied in working out the uneven spots, but after a time they lay down with piled-up hay for pillows, and rolled themselves in their blankets.
The girls went to sleep almost at once. Miss Elting, however, remained awake until her charges had finally settled down, as she supposed, for the night. She was just about to doze off when she was awakened by a scream and a commotion at one end of the mow. The guardian sprang up in alarm.
“For mercy’s sake! What is it?” she cried.
“Oh, thave me!” wailed Tommy.
Miss Elting and Harriet groped their way to Grace.