unknown uncle from a far country!” laughed Joan.
“Let me tell you something, too!” added Betty. “Let’s try to keep up our spirits while weeding this afternoon, by talking over what we will do when we reach the mountains. I’d rather pretend we were in the Adirondacks, or the Rockies, than over in Europe. But we can picture ourselves in the mountains, somewhere, like Sarah Crewe did you know, about her father and home, even while she had to live in the attic!”
The girls laughed at Betty’s optimism, but she took the laugh in good part; then she began weeding and at the same time began a fine oration on the beauties of the mountains and the wonders of Nature.
Soon the other girls were weeding, too, and vied with one another in thinking of some wonderful camp sports or plan they could talk about. Soon, to Ruth’s great amazement, each girl had rooted out the required number of dandelions for the day.
“Now then, didn’t I tell you we could work better if we thought of pleasant things and plans?” exulted Betty.
“We certainly did our stint this afternoon without the usual complaints and delays,” admitted Joan. “Let’s root some more.”
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and by the time the girls carried their baskets of weeds to Mrs. Vernon to be paid for, they found they had earned twice as much money, for they had each rooted out 200 plants instead of their usual 100.
As they sat on the cool verandah enjoying ice-cream and cakes, they told their hostess how it was they had weeded so many dandelions. Then they told her about their discouragement when they had heard how expensive a trip it would be to go to camp in the Adirondacks. But in reply to all their talking, Mrs. Vernon smiled and nodded her head.
They began to say “good-by” for the day, when Mrs. Vernon said: “I’ll have pleasant news for you to-morrow.”
“Oh, can’t we be told just a word about it now?” cried Ruth.
“Is it about a camp in the mountains?” added Joan.
But Mrs. Vernon shook her head in mild reproof of their curiosity, and refused to be beguiled into sharing her secret.
The Dandelion Girls, as they now styled themselves, lost no time after school was dismissed, the next afternoon, in running to the Vernon’s house. They found Mrs. Vernon on the side porch waiting for them.
“Before you begin work to-day, I thought I would mention a little idea I had last night after you left. It is not the secret but it has some connection with it.
“When Mr. Vernon came home last night, he told me he had heard of a fine tent for sale very cheap. There are several cot-beds and four lockers to go with it. He secured an option on it until he could ascertain what your decision might be about the purchase.
“As it is such a bargain, I would advise our buying it; then we can erect it on the rear lawn, and your tools and other chattels can be kept in the lockers. It would also provide us with a clubroom all our own while here, and when we go away to the mountains we will have a tent all ready to take with us.”
“Oh, I think that is lovely!” cried Julie, clapping her hands.
“It is so good of Uncle Verny and you – and we thank you a thousand times!” exclaimed Betty, thinking of gratitude before she gave a thought to the fun they might have in the tent.
“Well, it will make us feel as if we were preparing for a camp-life this summer, even though we may not be able to really afford it,” sighed Ruth, despondently.
“Heigh there! Cheer up, can’t you? Don’t be a gloom just when Verny tells us something so fine!” called Joan, reprovingly.
“But we don’t even know the price! Maybe it will take all the savings we have had on hand for our camping purposes,” argued Ruth.
“That’s so,” admitted Julie and Joan, but Betty said:
“How much will it cost us, Verny?”
“Well, as I am going to enjoy this outfit as much as any one of you girls, I am going to pay my share of the costs – exactly one-fifth of the total, girls.”
Ruth smiled unpleasantly at this reply, as if to say: “And you with all your money only doing what we girls each are doing!”
Mrs. Vernon saw the smile and understood the miscomprehension that caused it, but she also knew that Ruth would soon overcome all such erroneous methods of thinking and feeling if she but continued interesting herself in the Scout work and ideals.
“How much will the total cost be, Verny?” asked Julie.
Mrs. Vernon took out a slip of paper and read aloud the items that went with the tent, then concluded by mentioning the cash sum asked for the entire outfit.
“Why, it sounds awfully cheap!” exclaimed Betty.
“I think it is, girls, that is why I advise you to take it.”
“What under the sun do we want of an ax, a saw, and all that carpenter’s outfit? Why not let the man keep them and deduct the sum from the cost of the outfit?” asked Ruth.
“Because, my dear, a good ax, and other tools, are as necessary in camp-work and life as the tent itself. At present, tools are very expensive, and these are of the best quality steel, Uncle Verny says.”
“Well, buy them if you want to, but don’t expect me to wear water blisters on my hands by handling an ax or spade. Not when I go to camp!” retorted Ruth.
Little attention was paid to this rudeness, as Ruth’s friends knew enough of the laws of the scouts to ignore such shortcomings in others, but to try, instead, to nourish that which was worthy of perpetuation in thought and deed.
“Having our own tent where we can rest when we like makes it seem as if the mountains were much nearer us than so far off as the Adirondacks really are,” said Betty, happily.
“It may turn out that this camp will be all we shall have for this year,” commented Ruth.
“I don’t see why you should say that!” demanded Joan, impatiently.
“Because we’ll spend our money on this old thing and then have to weed and weed all the rest of the summer to earn the carfares.”
“It won’t figure up any differently in the end, ’cause we’d have to have some kind of a tent, wouldn’t we?” asked Julie.
“We might be able to borrow some – or buy them on the installment plan. I even might tease father to lend us the money to buy new ones when we are ready to go,” replied Ruth.
“It isn’t one of our rules to borrow or go in debt. We each want to demonstrate independence as we go along. Buying on credit, or with borrowed capital, is a very undesirable method of doing business,” said Mrs. Vernon, gravely.
“But paying back for a tent next fall, instead of next week, isn’t as bad as you seem to think,” insisted Ruth.
“All the same, we girls are going to buy for cash, and never borrow trouble, if we can help it!” declared Julie, sensibly.
“Then it is settled, is it? We take the tent?” said Mrs. Vernon.
“Of
