[Illustration: "YES, I AM RUNNING AWAY," SAID THE GIRL IN A TONE OFDESPERATION.]
OR
Along the Road that Leads the Way
By HILDEGARD G. FREY
AUTHOR OF
"The Camp Fire Girls in the Maine Woods," "The Camp Fire Girls at
School," "The Camp Fire Girls at Onoway House."
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS GO MOTORING
It is at Nyoda's bidding that I am writing the story of our automobiletrip last September. She declared it was really too good to keep toourselves, and as I was official reporter of the Winnebagos anyway, itwas no more nor less than my solemn duty. Sahwah says that the onlything which was lacking about our adventures was that we didn't have aride in a patrol wagon, but then Sahwah always did incline to thespectacular. And the whole train of events hinged on a commonplacecircumstance which is in itself hardly worth recording; namely, thattan khaki was all the rage for outing suits last summer. But then, manyan empire has fallen for a still slighter cause.
The night after we came home from Onoway House and shortly before westarted on that never-to-be-forgotten trip, I was sitting at the windowwatching the evening stars come out one after another. That line ofLongfellow's came into my mind:
"Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."
That quotation set me to thinking about Evangeline and the tragedy ofher never finding her lover. Could it be possible, I thought, that twopeople could come so near to finding each other and yet be just toolate? Not in these days of long distance telephones, I said to myself.As I looked out dreamily into the mild September twilight, I idlywatched two little girls chasing each other around the voting booththat stood on the corner. They kept dodging around the four sides,playing cat and mouse, and trying to catch each other by means of everytrick they could think of. One would go a little way and then stop andlisten for the footsteps of the other; then she would double back andgo the other way, and thus they kept it up, never coming face to face.I stopped dreaming and gave them my entire attention; I was beginningto feel a thrill of suspense as to which one would finally outwit theother and overtake her. The darkness deepened; more stars came out; themoon rose; still the exciting game did not come to a finish. Finally, awoman came out on the porch of the house on the corner and called,"Emma! Mary! Come in now." They never caught each other.
When I was elected reporter on the trip to keep a record of theinteresting things we saw, so we wouldn't forget them when we came towrite the Count, Nyoda said jokingly, "You'd better take an extranote-book along, Migwan, for we might possibly have some adventures onthe road."
I answered, "We've had all the adventures this last summer that canpossibly fall to the lot of one set of human beings, and I suppose allthe rest of our lives will seem dull and uninteresting by comparison."
I presume Fate heard that remark of mine just as she did that other onelast summer when I observed to Hinpoha that we were going to have sucha quiet time at Onoway House, and sat up and chuckled on the knees ofthe gods. In the light of future events it seems to me that it couldn'thave done less than kick its heels against that Knee and have hysterics.
As I was in the Glow-worm all the time, of course, I was an eye witnessto the things which happened to our party only; but the other girlshave told