“I’ll be ready for chow whenever it comes,” declared plump, good-natured Ardeth Padgett. “This invigorating pine air has given me a tremendous appetite.”
“Given it to you?” teased Beverly Chester. “I’d say you always had it!”
The remark was made and accepted in fun. Nevertheless, Beverly had a quick tongue which occasionally annoyed even her best friends. At one time, the dark-haired eighth grader had been leader of the patrol. However, during the previous winter, an unfortunate skiing incident had caused her to become conscious of her personality handicap, and she had insisted upon turning the post over to Kathleen Atwell.
Kathleen was considered one of the most level-headed girls in the organization. A natural leader, she always was thoughtful of others and had a way of getting things done with a minimum of fuss.
The other patrol members were Betty Bache, who wore her sandy hair in a short boyish bob, and Virginia Cunningham, an excellent athlete. Judy had nicknamed the three girls the “A-B-C’s” because of their last names—Atwell—Bache—Cunningham.
All the girls lived in the little city of Fairfield, some distance from Old Baldy Mountain. Throughout Spring, they had worked very hard to save enough money for an outing at the official Girl Scout Camp on Morning Glory Lake. Now, as the station wagon turned into the private road, they felt that they were indeed at the threshold of a wonderful adventure.
“Our arrival here is somewhat different from the one last winter when we trudged into Maple Leaf Lodge,” Virginia Cunningham commented, grinning at the recollection. “Remember?”
“Can one ever forget?” chuckled Judy. Contentedly, she drew a deep breath of the pine laden mountain air. “No one to meet us ... a dreadful snow storm ... the lodge closed ... and that horrible caretaker!”
“A Scout camp is different, I promise you,” Miss Ward assured the girls. “Everything is carefully planned. Nothing ever is left to chance. We should be there any minute now.”
Eagerly, the girls leaned forward in their seats, striving for the first glimpse of the clear blue lake which they knew would soon be visible through the tall, stately pines. On either side of the curving road, they saw rustic signs pointing out interesting trails.