“When do we start, Ruth?” asked Mollie. “I should like to be off to-morrow. Remember how fast the time is going. School begins the middle of October.”
“What about Grace?” asked Bab thoughtfully. “It would hardly be a real ‘Automobile Girls’ party if one of their number should be left out.”
“Oh, it is all right about Grace, of course!” Ruth answered. “Goodness me! Haven’t I told you? We have already talked our plan over with Squire Carter, who is delighted to have Grace go. He says a month out of doors will do wonders for her. He only wished he was not too old to join us.”
One week later, Miss Sallie Stuart and the quartette of “Automobile Girls” gathered at the station to speed Mrs. Thurston on her journey. Mr. Stuart was to accompany her as far as New York City, and see her safely established among his friends.
“Be good children, all of you,” urged Mrs. Thurston at the last minute. “And remember to keep your feet dry.”
“In case the camping outfit is not thoroughly satisfactory, Sallie,” counseled Mr. Stuart, “telegraph to New York for whatever you like. I believe everything is O. K. Remember to keep your camp fires always burning. You are to have the most trustworthy guide in the Berkshires, as well as his wife, to look after you, and you will never be far from civilization if you wish to go, Sallie?” he ended, for Miss Sallie was looking dismal at the idea of parting.
Miss Sallie nodded her head. “You know my views, Robert. If you will permit Ruth to follow any wild fancy that pops into her head, at least, I shall be near to see that she gets into as little mischief as possible.”
Mr. Stuart’s last whisper before the train started was for Bab. “Don’t worry about your little mother,” he said. “We will see that things are well with her. That copper stock she owns is looking up again. She is not to sell out.”
Mr. Stuart turned to find Ruth for his last kiss. “Remember, daughter,” he declared, “I rely on you and Bab to keep cool heads and clear brains in any emergency.”
As the train moved off, Mr. Stuart and Mrs. Thurston watched for a few moments a circle of waving hands. A little later their car swung around a curve and Kingsbridge was lost to view.