The Lakeland evening telegram., 1914-05-26
CAMP FIRE GIRLS
BY LOUISE MERRIFIELp.

BY LOUISE MERRlFiEIO. .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Il don't give a continental hang,
mother It's close on to moving time,
and l amt going to let lot Of girls
like that camp out on my place.
They'll be cutting crosslots through
the hay fields after water and vege-
tables and all sorts OF truck, and I
won't have It,"
They'd be lots Of company for me,
Pa" Out Of the cool buttery Mrs. Tis-
dale stepped briskly, with two pails
of milk. She put the covers on both.
and waited, smiling at the stoop-shouL
dered, stubborn old fellow making his
toilet for dinner at the iron sink
Just tell them what l say, now,
mother" the old man insisted. II can't
be bothered round haying time"
Somebody was whistling down the
winding lane that led from the barn
to the brook where the cattle trooped
to be watered night and morning She
knew 1t was Ben, and her chin settled
into decisive lines.
PA, l hate to 60 against you, but
rights right, and these girls are will
ing to 90 round by the road. I shall
tell them they can stay where they
are. l guess after thirty-eisht years
here. I've got some rights, Alonzo.
and they'll buy milk and butter and
vegetables steady for two weeks"
Ben stopped dead short when he
came around by the woodshed and
saw the girls. Perhaps he might have
bolted II 1t hadn't been for the friend
ly, comradely greeting they gave him.
He had never seen girls like these.
Dressed In khaki skirts. MILDLY blouses,
and hair bound in close Indian plaits
around their heads, the girls stood
smiling at him.
We're going into camp over on
your hill," called one of them. rs
there spring around the pine grover"
Ben assured them there was beau.
ty. He'd 60 himself and show 1t to
them.
We're Camp Fire Girls. My name
Is Dorothy Nevins." The tall, blue
eyed girl held out her hand to him.
Il heard your mother say Ben would
show US where things were, so you
must be Ben. Is 1t safe bathing in
that pond above the DAM"
Safe enough II you know where the
holes are" Ben said. Keep toward
the upper end on your side"
ITS darling old place." Dorothy
said, wistfully. you want to live in
a city all your life to really appreciate
this. wish I lived here, part OF the
year. anyway"
so do L. said Ben before he
thought, and then he stared hard at
the fire, and felt his cheeks grow
warm. Yet he added huskily, Il
wouldn't mind bit If you were here"
1t was the last day before the camp
broke up. Ben was in the pasture
next the woodland hunting a couple
of calves that had stayed when he
heard the girls calling for help. The
cry came from the old mill pond down
by the hill. Ben took the short cut to
1t through the strip of woodland and
the boggy meadow beyond
It's Dorothy the girls called, as
he neared them. "She was teaching
one Of US to swim and dive, and we
can't find her"
Ben knew where she was The bank
shelved into rock strata at this point,
and dipped down into a deep hole
filled with treacherous sunken snags
and broken old boughs. Every boy !
and man in the whole town too knew
that black hole In the Tisdale mill
pond and steered clear of it.
Along the road came PA" Tisdale,
leaning way over, and dreaming
his day dreams. He heard the girls
cries, and inwardly resented the dis
turbance of the beautiful morning
peace, until he turned the bend and |
saw what had happened And some.
how, sixty odd years dropped right off |
PAS" shoulders then and there. He,
too, knew that place in the pond. He |
had lived there at the old farm as a
boy.
Whoa, girls" he called to the gray
mares, and stood up tugging at his
old vest and boots. Leaving the load |
of sweet-scented, fresh-cut hay stand
ing in the road, he crashed through
the underbrush to the brink Of the
pond, but Ben was swimming In with
long overland strokes, holding Doro-
thy's unconscious body over his arm.
1t was the old man himself who helped |
him up the bank with his burden. and
took the limp little body from him.
THE poor little thing" he said,
huskily Well take her right home
to Ma"
So it came about that when the lit.
tie body of campers was ready to
move along it went without its leader
Up at Maple View she rested, petted
and fopdad bx, No T;.lo1o |