A holiday was declared in the afternoon, however, and it was then that Cleo, Louise and Julia went for their long, looked forward to ride.
Being assured they had permission from home (it was talked of on the visit with mothers the day before), also assured that a woman instructor would ride with the girls, they left camp directly after dinner, hurried to the home cottages to don their riding togs, and when the sky was bluest, the trees greenest, and everything nicely dried up, the three Scouts, with Mrs. Broadbent the instructor, cantered off through the curling roads of Hocomo.
Getting acquainted with their horses took some little time, but they were gentle animals and seemed to enjoy either trotting or cantering as their little riders willed.
Out on the turnpike road there were so many motors that Mrs. Broadbent suggested they go cross field and come out along the old mining regions.
“Is that where the powder mills are?” asked Cleo.
“Yes, there are some big powder works in this district,” replied the horsewoman. “We had many soldier boys out here doing guard duty a few years ago.”
The girls remembered the remark about dynamite signs, more than one person having warned them that the signs might be found but were really harmless, and when their horses smelled the fresh clover on the slope between two hills, Mrs. Broadbent suggested the riders dismount and rest awhile, allowing the horses to “nose around” and enjoy themselves for a half hour.
“‘Pep’ expects a treat when he gets up here,” she said, “and Baldy likes this tall grass, he doesn’t have to stoop so low to get it.”
The riders assented gladly. It was delightful to “browse” in such a spot, for the hill afforded a rare view of the lake and surrounding bungalows and tent district.
Freely the three Scouts roamed about, searching for odd flowers and pretty stones, although just how the stones were going to be carried without spoiling riding-habit pockets, was not quite clear. The horsewoman stretched herself in the grass and called orders to the horses, should they wander too far from safety.