Flo cuddled up to her in quite sisterly fashion, saying: “Now don’t cover your head. If it rains I’ll wake and pull up the tarp. Good night, Carley.” And almost immediately she seemed to fall asleep.
For Carley, however, sleep did not soon come. She had too many aches; the aftermath of her shock of fright abided with her; and the blackness of night, the cold whip of wind over her face, and the unprotected helplessness she felt in this novel bed, were too entirely new and disturbing to be overcome at once. So she lay wide eyed, staring at the dense gray shadow, at the flickering lights upon the cedar. At length her mind formed a conclusion that this sort of thing might be worth the hardship once in a lifetime, anyway. What a concession to Glenn’s West! In the secret seclusion of her mind she had to confess that if her vanity had not been so assaulted and humiliated she might have enjoyed herself more. It seemed impossible, however, to have thrills and pleasures and exaltations in the face of discomfort, privation, and an uneasy half-acknowledged fear. No woman could have either a good or a profitable time when she was at her worst. Carley thought she would not be averse to getting Flo Hutter to New York, into an atmosphere wholly strange and difficult, and see how she met situation after situation unfamiliar to her. And so Carley’s mind drifted on until at last she succumbed to drowsiness.
A voice pierced her dreams of home, of warmth and comfort. Something sharp, cold, and fragrant was scratching her eyes. She opened them. Glenn stood over her, pushing a sprig of cedar into her face.
“Carley, the day is far spent,” he said, gayly. “We want to roll up your bedding. Will you get out of it?”
“Hello, Glenn! What time is it?” she replied.
“It’s nearly six.”
“What!... Do you expect me to get up at that ungodly hour?”
“We’re all up. Flo’s eating breakfast. It’s going to be a bad day, I’m afraid. And we want to get packed and moving before it starts to rain.”
“Why do girls leave home?” she asked, tragically.
“To make poor devils happy, of course,” he replied, smiling down upon her.