“We will go with you,” volunteered Lieutenant Wingate. “It doesn’t appear to be safe to let you out of our sight.”
“No. Stacy might fall into some hole and get parboiled. Not that it would not do him good, but the difficulty is that he might not be wise enough to know when he was done and come out,” volunteered Emma Dean.
“Do you mean to insinuate that I’m underdone?” demanded Chunky belligerently.
“Certainly not, Stacy. You are quite capable of speaking for yourself.”
“Say, you good people, it seems to me that our soap is disappearing rather fast,” called Tom Gray from his tent.
Stacy winked solemnly at the guide, a wink that was not lost on either Grace or Emma. Tom, at this juncture, came out with a shirt, a pair of pink pajamas and some underwear and a cake of soap in his hand.
“All ready,” announced Tom. “Stacy, you come with me. Jim, you say that the pool just beyond ‘Old Faithful’ is a good place in which to wash our clothes?”
The guide nodded, but did not offer to accompany the party to the “Little Fountain.” Hippy, after gathering up some of his own soiled garments, started on after the pair, followed by the entire Overland party. Emma was chuckling to herself.
“You seem to be amused about something,” said Grace, eyeing her companion suspiciously.
“I am.”