“Where are we going, anyway?” he wanted to know.
“Three-Mile Pass, you heard me say. Do you know where that is?” returned Captain Gray.
“No. Do you?”
Tom said he had a fair idea of its location. Though tired and somewhat nervous, the Overland girls prepared for the journey with their usual cheerfulness, and were under way in an hour. Tom selected an unsuspected pass as the route from the meadow, and the riders were soon swallowed up in its deep gloom. It seemed as though night had poured the blackest of her coloring into this pass, but the trail was fairly smooth and one could not stray from it without bumping into the rocks.
No halt was made until daylight. Then the party stopped for breakfast, and, while there, horses were heard approaching. The girls were startled, and looked to Tom for orders, but Captain Gray merely smiled.
“Don’t worry; only some guests for breakfast,” he said.
“It’s Hamilton!” cried Emma Dean, as two horsemen rode into sight.
“And the Peanut Man,” added Nora joyously.
“Put over a fresh pot of coffee,” suggested Grace. “They look tired, and goodness knows one, at least, has a right to be tired.”
“Peanuts, peanuts, ladies and gentlemen!” called Jim Haley. “The International product has reached to the utmost limits of the Cascades already, and will soon be over the border. Howdy, folks!”