Winona of the Camp Fire Part 4

"Oh, what an awful pun!" cried everybody; but Louise went on. She lifted the limp bag gingerly, and looked at it as if she was very sorry for it indeed.

"Let's serenade the eggs, girls!" she said. "Just follow me!"

And the people in the front seats of the trolley heard a hearty chorus of young voices ringing out from the two back seats:

Good-bye, little eggs, good-bye- Don't cry, little eggs, don't cry; Although you break for our sweet sake While we're marching away upon a picnic- Good-bye, little eggs, good-bye- By and bye, little eggs, by and bye We'll be eating up our lunch, but we won't have you to crunch- Good-bye, little eggs, good-bye!

The girls were in fits of laughter by the time they had done singing Louise's doggerel.

"And yet-it really is silly!" said Marie consideringly when they were done.

"Don't insult my beautiful, high-brow pome," said Louise cheerfully, hopping out of the trolley, for they were at their journey's end. "Who's going to fetch water? Don't all speak at once."

"We'll get the water," Edith promised, speaking for herself and Marie.

"It won't be as hard on my poor clothes as frying bacon."

So the two of them took the kettle and started off.

The place the girls had chosen for their bacon-bat was a little wood at the end of the trolley-line, which possessed a spring, and an open, sheltered sort of ravine where picnickers were wont to build their fires. The girls sauntered along in ones and twos till they reached this ravine, set down the things they carried, and scattered to look for sticks.

Winnie and Helen, peacefully gathering wood as they went, suddenly heard screams, and dropped their wood and ran toward the sound.

"It's-it's near the spring," panted Winona to Helen. "Oh, I do hope n.o.body's fallen in!"

They arrived at the spring just as Adelaide Hughes and Mrs. Bryan reached it from another direction.

Now the spring was not an untouched, wildwood affair at all. The authorities had done things to it which made its water a great deal better for drinking purposes, but much less picturesque-and deeper. Its bed had been widened and lined with concrete, and barred across at intervals, whether to keep the earth back or the concrete solid n.o.body but the Town Council that had done it knew. And although falling between the bars didn't seem very easy even for a slim, small girl, Edith seemed to have accomplished it. She was wedged between two of the bars across the water, and what was more, she had managed to drag Marie Hunter down with her in her fall. Marie only had one foot in the water, and she was struggling to get out, though the force of the stream was making it hard for her, for the pool was about four feet deep. But Edith, wedged between the bars, was devoting her energies exclusively to screaming for help. The reason was apparent when the rescuing parties came closer. One arm was caught down beside her, so that she could balance herself, but not get out. Winona took one look at the situation.

"We'll get Edith out!" she called to Mrs. Bryan. "Can you manage Marie?"

Mrs. Bryan was a slender, delicate-looking woman, but she was stronger than Winona realized.

"Certainly!" she encouraged. And Helen and Winona began eagerly trying to extricate their friend.

It was impossible to reach Edith and take her free hand to pull her out by-the bank each side the sluice, or stream, or whatever you choose to call it, was too deep. Winnie thought a minute. Then she took off the long, strong blue silk scarf she wore in a big bow at the neck of her blouse.

"Can I have yours, too, Helen?" And Helen handed hers over promptly.

Either alone was long enough, but Winnie wanted the two to twist together, for fear one would not bear Edith's weight.

"Can you get around to the other side with your end, Helen?" she said.

Helen scurried around up back of the source. Then she and Winnie, each holding an end of the scarf-rope, walked down either side of the stream till they were parallel with Edith. They knelt down and lowered the scarf till Edith could slip her free arm over it, and pull herself up.

With its aid as a brace, she managed to free the caught arm, jammed against her side. After that it was easy enough, and in a few minutes she extricated herself entirely, and half dragged, half pulled herself up the steep bank. By the time the girls were done pulling her out she and they were pretty well worn out, and they dropped on the gra.s.s, Helen and Edith on one side and Winnie on the other, and took time to find their lost breaths.

Mrs. Bryan and Marie came up to them now-getting Marie out of the water had been a fairly easy matter-and made the others get up.

"Edith and Marie must go straight and get off their wet things!" the older woman advised. "And Adelaide's feet are wet, too."

"Where had we better go?" asked Marie, calm as ever, though n.o.body could have been much wetter than she was up to her waist.

"Old Mary's is the quickest place," said Mrs. Bryan. "Hurry, now-run, or you'll catch cold. Adelaide and I are coming, too."

The whole party-for Winnie and Helen wanted to see the finish-set off at a brisk trot for Old Mary's.

Old Mary was an elderly Irishwoman who earned her living mostly by taking in was.h.i.+ng, but also by selling ginger-ale, cookies and sandwiches to such picnics and automobile parties as came her way. Her little house was close to the picnic-woods.

"They're sure of a good fire to change their things by, that's one comfort," said Winnie to Helen as they ran along in the rear of their dripping friends.

"Yes, but--" Helen began to laugh. "What are they going to change to?"

she inquired. "We didn't any of us bring our trunks-it isn't done on picnics!"

"They'll have to go to bed!" was Winnie's solution, and they both began to laugh again.

"It's a shame, though, to have them miss all the picnic," said Winnie, sobering down.

But when they arrived on the scene they found the victims hadn't the least intention of going to bed.

"Sure, I'll iron their bits of clothes dry," said Old Mary, "an' who'll be the worse if they borry a few clothes from me ironin' horse till the others are dry? The people that own 'em 'd never mind-I've an elegant trade in the was.h.i.+n' of clothes, an' there's plenty to fit yez all on the horse."

It was not half-past eleven yet, and the girls would not be going home for some hours, so there would be plenty of time for the things to dry.

So Edith and Marie accepted Old Mary's offer on the spot. Among the various family washes that she was doing were some things of their own.

They managed to pick out enough dry clothing for all their needs-all but dresses. There were s.h.i.+rtwaists and blouses galore, but it was too early for many wash-skirts to be going to the laundress.

However, there was an ample red cotton wrapper, the property of Mary herself, which at least covered Marie. But Edith was little, and there was nothing which came near fitting her but an expensively trimmed white organdy party-dress, which Mary said frankly she did not feel she could lend.

"What shall I do?" asked Edith in desperation. "I can't sit here all day till my dress dries!"

"I dunno, darlin'. Sure 'tis too bad. Wait a minute, though." She hurried out of the room, and presently returned waving something blue.

"If ye wouldn't mind these overalls, now," she said, "they're just washed an' ironed for little James Dempsey to wear. An' the beauty of overalls is they fit anybody."

"_Overalls!_" said Edith mournfully.

But overalls were better than a day in bed, and the end of it was, that out of Old Mary's hospitable cottage walked a tall Irishwoman with two long braids over her trailing red wrapper, and a small Irishman with yellow curls over very baggy and much turned-up overalls, instead of neat Marie and fluffy Edith. They and Adelaide had put on dry stockings, and had many thicknesses of newspaper on their shoes till they could get to the fire to dry them.

"Good-mornin'!" said Marie cheerfully to her astonished friends, as she sailed majestically up to the freshly-made fire.

"Sure we're the world-renowned vaudeville team, Hunter an' Hillis."

"Just back from doing their justly-famous diving stunt!" added Winnie.

"Better come near the fire, girls, and try to get your shoes dry."

The fire, which the rest had made during the "diving-stunt," was burning beautifully. The girls laid down waterproofs and blankets, and disposed themselves comfortably around it, for the fire-makers were tired, and the rescuers and rescued were particularly glad to lie down and be warm and dry and limp.

"Two long hours to dinner-time!" from Winnie presently in a very sad voice. "I don't feel as if I could stand it."

"Nor I!" several voices chimed in.

"Then why do you?" suggested Mrs. Bryan sensibly. "If everybody's hungry we might as well have dinner now!"