The doctor prescribed early bed that evening, because they were to get an early start.
“What do you call early, seven o’clock?” asked Bennie.
Uncle Billy looked pained. “Seven o’clock!” he sniffed. “My esteemed nephew, at seven o’clock on this trip we will usually have traveled at least fifty miles, and you’ll be asking about lunch. I’ll wake you up at five.”
“And I thought I was going to have a nice summer!” said Bennie, pretending to be very gloomy.
At five o’clock the next morning, he and Spider were sleeping soundly when a voice boomed into their dreams, “All aboard for Crater Lake! Last call!”
They were out of bed and rushing to get first into the tub before they half knew what had happened.
But it was really long after seven before they got started. The dunnage bags had to be packed with the clothes they were going to need, breakfast eaten, everything gone over again to make sure nothing was forgotten, and then followed a wait of an hour before the Stones’ car arrived, loaded down like theirs, with the tripod of the movie camera in a case on top of the luggage in the rear, and Dumpling and his father sitting in front.
“All aboard!” shouted the doctor.
“Well, how do you get aboard?” said Bennie. “You can’t open a single door.”
“If you can’t get into a car over the top of the door you’ll never get up Mount Jefferson,” said his uncle.