A week had passed, and although the novelty of many of the activities and pleasures of this life in the open had dulled, every moment proved one of joy. Drills, contests, sports, hikes, and various entertainments had merged so evenly, one into the other, that tasks had lost their irksomeness and play had received an added zest.
To be sure, some unfortunate accidents had happened; Grace had cut her hand when opening a can of tomatoes, Carol had been stung by some mysterious insect so severely that even the doctor was puzzled, and one of the Orioles had sprained her ankle. But these mishaps had been received with true camp fortitude—the Pioneer spirit, Helen called it—and had only served as object lessons in the First Aid to the Injured talks given by Dr. Morrow, thus giving Helen and Kitty a chance to display their expertness in the triangular, the four-tailed, and many other kinds of bandages.
Hammers, saws, and hatchets were in great demand one morning—the girls all busy making stilts, some to show their scout friends that they could handle men’s tools, while others were qualifying for first-class Pioneers—when Lillie appeared. With woebegone face she reported to Nathalie, who was serving as her assistant on the Grub committee, that there was no milk.
“No milk?” ejaculated the girl. “Why, wasn’t the milkman here this morning?”
“Sure,” nodded Lillie, “but that Oriole girl—Nannie Plummer—dropped some swill into the milk can. She mistook it for the garbage pail—” Lillie’s eyes glinted humorously—“she was so busy expressing her admiration for that Will Hopper, you know the scout with the languishing eyes, as Helen calls them.”
Nathalie’s face expressed dismay. “Oh, what shall we do?” she almost wailed; “we have got to have milk for that pudding, and—”
“To be sure,” laconically returned Lillie, “and you will have to go and get some.”
“Get some?” echoed Nathalie faintly; “where?”
“At the farm-house, you know the place—with the red barn—on the road to Boonton.”
“But there isn’t time for me to walk there and back before dinner,” protested the girl somewhat wrathfully, “on this hot day, too!”