They turned, startled, to see Darry himself looking down at them and laughing. He had climbed into the branches of a huge old gnarled oak that threw its shade before the lodge and now sat dangling his legs in solid comfort. He had even taken a book up with him for company.
“Well, of all things! Reading on a day like this!” cried Amy. “Can’t you think of anything better to do with your time, Darry Drew?”
“If you could suggest something sufficiently enticing,” said Darry, with a grin, “I might be lured down from this leafy bower. You don’t know how comfortable it is up here, really,” he said, with a sigh, as he realized that his peaceful solitude must come to an end.
“Hear the man!” laughed Nell, who had come up just in time to hear his last words. “His eagerness to be with us is flattering!”
“Far be it from me to be ungallant to the ladies,” said Darry, dropping to the ground and bowing low before them. “I am at your service, fair ones. Command me!”
“Hey, don’t be too reckless, Darry,” warned Burd, as he and Fol joined the group. “They may ask you to repair their radio or start a forest fire or something. I know them!”
“As if we couldn’t take care of our radio by ourselves,” said Jessie, scornfully.
“A little forest fire might furnish some excitement,” added Amy brightly. “We would need only a very little one, you know.”
“And what fun to see the forest rangers at work!” exclaimed Nell.
“Now, what did I tell you?” demanded Burd.