The girls, puzzled, watched her for a moment or two, then Zan drove on to the barn.
Nita was nowhere in sight when the girls reached the Bluff although she had had quite half an hour in which to get the meat and carry it to camp.
"She must be down at the cottage being entertained by Mrs. Sherwood. Shall I run down and see if the meat is heavy?" said Zan to the Guide.
"We'll wait a few minutes longer, then you may start and offer your assistance in carrying the packages up," replied Miss Miller, wondering if it would be wise to have Zan go after Nita. Then, realising that her concern over the girl made her magnify everything, she decided to stop worrying about it.
Shortly after this, Mrs. Sherwood came up the slope puffing rapidly at the ascent. She had a large brown paper parcel that she deposited as soon as she reached the Bluff.
"That meat don't feel heavy when you hold it at the wagon, but it grows heavier every step you take comin' up the hill," declared she, sitting down on a stone and wiping her brow with a large handkerchief.
"Why didn't Nita carry it up—she offered to do so," asked Zan, impatient at the girl's avoidance of a task.
"That yaller-haired miss! Oh, she was too busy keepin' an eye on Jack Everton's horses to bother about the butcher. The young scape-grace had a tandem this mornin' an' the girl looked just a bit fearsome from the way she hung to the side of the seat."
"Why, Mrs. Sherwood, you don't mean——" Zan started to say, when the Guide, who was standing directly back of her, gave her a warning pinch.
"Yes, I mean that good-for-nothing! What his grandmother ever has him down here for I'm sure I don't know! She's a nice quiet sort of a lady, but that rascal! Well!" said Mrs. Sherwood, misunderstanding Zan's half-completed speech.