The Automobile Girls in the Berkshires Part 12

"Kindly allow me the floor! Mollie is most certainly not interested in the Latham family history. Who is? Nor does she care a fig for Mr.

Reginald Latham and his toy balloons. But, Mollie, I was endeavoring to tell you about the wonderful curios they have in their house. The late lamented brother, we were informed, has left behind him one of the most famous collection of Indian relics in the world. If I am obliged to mention the stupid subject of family history, I must say that the Lathams are an old family up in this part of the country. They do not belong to the 'newly rich.' The queer elder brother devoted his life to the study of the history of the Indians in this part of the world, and has written a book about them."

"Grace, have you finished making your speech?" inquired Ruth, with mock politeness. "Poor Mollie must be bored stiff with all this useless information. How did you spend the afternoon, dear? We have talked so much about c.o.o.n hunts and Indian relics and the Lathams that you have had no chance to answer."

"Oh, I took a nap!" responded Mollie, vaguely, and led the way into supper.

Late that evening, as the girls sat by the fire, they heard a sudden knocking at their cabin door. Miss Sallie, who was in bed, bounded out again. For the first time since their arrival in the woods the camping party was alone. Naki had been obliged to go down the hill on an errand.

No one had dreamed of any possible danger in his absence.

The knocking continued. "Open! Open!" cried the voices of two men.

"Who on earth can they be?" Grace asked of the circle of girls. No one answered. Ceally came hurriedly in from the kitchen. Miss Sallie stood at her door.

The knocks were repeated in quick succession.

Ceally had taken the precaution, earlier in the evening, to close and bolt all the doors and windows except one. The shutters of this were open on the outside.

"Sh-s.h.!.+" whispered Bab, creeping on tiptoes to the window. Before their front door, she could dimly outline the figures of two men, who were evidently arguing and protesting about something.

"Open! Open!" cried the voices again. "We are friends, and will do you no harm."

"Then go away at once!" Miss Sallie commanded.

There was a m.u.f.fled sound outside the door. Could it be laughter? Then a voice called more roughly. "How long must we wait?"

Ruth and Bab looked at each other blankly. Miss Stuart had gone back into her own room. "What on earth shall we do? Shall we open the door?" Ruth inquired.

Mollie and Grace both shook their heads.

"Ruth," whispered Barbara resourcefully, "your rifle is behind that door, and Naki's big shotgun is next to it. Of course, we don't know how to shoot either one of the guns very well at present, but, if you will hold your rifle pointed toward the door, I shall try to shoulder this heavy shotgun. Oh, I have a splendid idea!"

"Out with it, child!" ordered Ruth. "I believe the knocking on the door will keep up all night, unless we open it."

"Who's there?" inquired Grace, timidly, before Bab could answer.

"Friends!" responded the men on the outside.

Barbara motioned silence. "Listen to me," she said. "We have no way of knowing if those men on the outside are friends, whatever they may say.

Here is my scheme! Remember the story of the women in a town near here, who once defended their fort against an attack by the Indians, when the men were all away at work in the cornfields? The women dressed up in their husbands' clothes and frightened the Indians away. Ruth, let's disguise ourselves as men and then let Ceally open the door."

"Bab, you and Ruth are both crazy!" protested Mollie, half-laughing, and half-frightened.

Bang! Bang! The blows on the door were tremendous. "If you don't let us in, you'll be sorry!" called one of the men.

Bab had already found an old hat of Naki's conveniently near. Ceally, who was giggling nervously, produced a hunting jacket of her husband's, which had seen much service. It was not clean, but Bab slipped into it, determined to see her plan through.

Nor was Barbara the only hero. While she was making her extraordinary costume, Ruth had torn down a squirrel skin, which some previous hunter had tacked on their cabin wall and twisted it around her head so that the tail hung down to one side. Then she slipped on her own leather coat, which she gave a more dilapidated appearance, by wearing it wrong side out.

Both girls got behind chairs to hide their skirts.

"Good gracious, Ruth!" giggled Bab, in spite of her excitement. "You look like Daniel Boone."

During their preparation not a word was heard from Miss Sallie, who was closeted in her own room.

"Ceally, open the door!" cried Ruth, raising her rifle and leveling it in front of her.

Bab put her elbow on the back of her chair to steady her shotgun.

"Girls!" cried Miss Stuart, unexpectedly. "Don't dare to open that door!"

But she spoke too late. Ceally had already drawn the heavy bolt back and the door swung aside.

There rushed into the room two men--or to be strictly truthful, two boys.

They looked first at Mollie and Grace, then at Ruth and Bab. Without a word they dropped into two chairs.

"Oh, oh, oh!" they shouted. "Did you ever see anything in the world so funny? Ralph, look at Ruth!" cried Hugh.

"Ralph Ewing and Hugh Post, where did you come from?" demanded four girls' voices together. "We took you for highwaymen."

Bab set down her shotgun and Ruth her rifle. Both girls began pulling off their masculine disguises.

"Don't take off those terrifying garments, Bab!" cried Ralph Ewing. "You, Ruth, should have your picture taken in that hat."

By this time, Miss Stuart, fully dressed, with her pompadour neatly arranged appeared at the door. Highwaymen or no highwaymen, Miss Sallie had no intention of appearing before strange men without being properly dressed. Now she was mistress of herself and of the situation.

Both Huge Post and Ralph Ewing stopped laughing when they saw Miss Sallie's face. She did not appear overpleased to see her two young friends, whose doings were fully described in the preceding volume. "The Automobile Girls at Newport."

"Where did you come from?" she asked politely, but without enthusiasm.

"And why did you knock on our door at this time of the evening, without informing us who you were?"

"Ruth," continued Miss Sallie severely, "what are you and Barbara doing in those clothes? Take them off at once."

"Please, ma'am," responded Bab meekly, but with a twinkle in her eye, "we dressed up as men to frighten the highwaymen."

"You are enough to frighten them, I am sure," retorted Miss Stuart scornfully.

Here, Ralph Ewing spoke in his most charming manner: "Miss Sallie, we do owe you an apology and we make it with all our hearts. We had no intention of playing any pranks when we came up the hill to see you.

Several days ago we were informed that 'The Automobile Girls' were camping in the Berks.h.i.+res. Well, Hugh and I are on our way to Boston to join Mrs. Post, and----"

"Ralph, do let me do my share of the apologizing," interrupted Hugh. "See here, Miss Sallie, this nonsense to-night is all my fault. Ralph was dead against my pounding at the door and refusing to give our names; but I thought it would be fun to stir the girls up. I knew two such valiant girls as Ruth and Barbara would not be really frightened, even if we had been a whole band of outlaws. It was a stupid practical joke and I am ashamed of it."

"But how did you find us, Hugh?" put in Ruth, who was embarra.s.sed by her aunt's lack of cordiality to their old Newport friends.

"Please, Aunt Sallie, say you'll forgive us!" Hugh pleaded. "See how many miles we have traveled to see you. We would have been here in the broad daylight, only one of the tires in my machine would get a puncture. The man at the garage told us which hill to climb to find you. We met your guide coming down the hill, and he gave us further instructions. So here we are! Aren't you just a little glad to see us?"

"Of course, I am," laughed Aunt Sallie, amiably. "But there is one thing certain: you can't get down our hill again to-night, and we have no place to offer you to sleep."

"Is that what is preying on my hospitable aunt's mind all this time?"