This time Kitty made no objection to having her loose shoe removed, but once off Stacy did not know how to put it on again, and Tom Gray had to finish the job to the great enjoyment of the cowboys. The job finally finished, Stacy and Hippy perspiring from their efforts, the Overlanders went out to watch the range men come in, uttering wild whoops as they discovered that there were women in camp.
Throwing themselves from their saddles, the range men soused their heads in the creek that flowed near the ranch-house, and were ready for the evening meal. After supper, all hands lounged out to the green in front of the bunkhouse, smoked their pipes and told thrilling stories of adventure in the Sierras—told them for the benefit of the tenderfeet who were their guests.
The Overland girls chatted with the rough but big-hearted cow punchers, who, that night, declared that they never had come up with such a likely bunch of young women.
When Mr. Giddings learned from Tom Gray that the party was bound for the High Sierras, he shook his head dubiously.
“No place for white folk, especially women,” he warned.
“Why not?” questioned Tom.
“Trouble! It’s the Devil’s country up there.”
“We are used to roughing it under all sorts of conditions,” replied Tom. “We learned how to do that during the Great War. All these young women were in the service, at or near the front in France; Mr. Wingate was an aviator, and I was a Captain of Engineers, so you see we aren’t afraid of trouble.”
“That’s all right. I take off my hat to you, especially to the young ladies. This country is another breed of cats, however, and they tell strange stories about men going up there and never being found afterwards, or, as is sometimes the case, found dead in the Crazy Lake section. Aerial Lake, they call it.”
“Where is this mysterious lake?” asked Miss Briggs.