A Summer in a Canyon | Page 6

with noise of
hammering and sawing.
'If you were only going, Elsie, our cup of happiness would be full,'
sighed Bell.
'Not only would it be full, Bell, but it would be running over, and we
should positively stand in the slop,' said Polly. 'No, you needn't frown
at me, miss; that expression is borrowed from no less a person than
Sydney Smith.'
'Don't think any more about me,' smiled Elsie. 'Perhaps I can come
down in the course of the summer. I know it will be the happiest time
in the world, but I don't envy you a bit; in fact, I'm very glad you're
going, because you'll have such a lovely budget of adventures to tell me
when you come back.'

'When we come back, indeed!' exclaimed Bell. 'Why, we shall write
long round-robin letters every few days, and send them by the team.
Papa says Pancho will have to go over to the stage station at least once
a week for letters and any provisions we may need.'
'Oh, won't that be delightful,--almost as good as being there myself!
And, Margery dear, you must make them tell me every least little thing
that happens. You know they are such fly-aways that they'll only write
me when they learn to swim, or shoot a wildcat, or get lost in the
woods. I want to know all the stupid bits: what you have for dinner,
how and where you sleep, how your camp looks, what you do from
morning till night, and how Dicky behaves.'
'I can tell you that beforehand,' said Bell, dolefully. 'Jack will shoot him
by mistake on Thursday; he will be kicked by the horses Friday, and
bitten by tarantulas and rattlesnakes Saturday; he will eat poison oak on
Sunday, get lost in the canyon Monday, be eaten by a bear Tuesday,
and drowned in the pool Wednesday. These incidents will complete his
first week; and if they produce no effect on his naturally strong
constitution, he will treat us to another week, containing just as many
mishaps, but no duplicates.'
By the time this dismal prophecy was ended the other girls were in a
breathless fit of laughter, though all acknowledged it was likely to be
fulfilled.
'I went over the camping-ground last summer,' said Margery. 'You
know it is quite near papa's sheep ranch, and it is certainly the most
beautiful place in California. The tents will be pitched at the mouth of
the canyon, where there is a view of the ocean, and just at the back will
be a lovely grove of wild oaks and sycamore-trees.'
'Oh, won't it be delicious!' sighed Elsie. 'I feel as if I could sniff the air
this minute. But there! I won't pretend that I'm dying for fresh air, with
the breath of the sea coming in at my south window, and a whiff of
jasmine and honeysuckle from the piazza. That would be nonsense. Are
your trunks packed?'

'Trunks!' exclaimed Polly. 'Would you believe it, our clothes are
packed in gunny-sacks! We start in our camping-dresses, with ulsters
for the steamer and dusters for the long drive. Then we each have-- let
me see what we have: a short, tough riding-skirt with a jersey, a
bathing-dress, and some gingham morning-gowns to wear about the
camp at breakfast-time.'
'And flannel gowns for the night, and two pairs of boots, and a
riding-cap and one hat apiece,' added Margery.
'But oh, Elsie, my dear, you should see Dicky in his camping-suits,'
laughed Bell. 'They are a triumph of invention on mamma's part. Just
imagine! one is of some enamelled cloth that was left over from the
new carriage cushions; it is very shiny and elegant; and the other, truly,
is of soft tanned leather, and just as pretty as it can be. Then he has
hob-nailed, copper-toed boots, and a hat that ties under his chin. Poor
little man, he has lost his curls, too, and looks rather like a convict.'
Mrs. Howard came in the door while Bell was speaking, and laughed
heartily at the description of Dicky's curious outfit. 'What time do you
start?' she asked, as she laid a bunch of mignonette on Elsie's table.
'At eleven to-morrow morning,' Bell answered. 'Everything is packed.
We are to start in the steamer, and when we come to our old landing,
about forty miles down the coast, we are to get off and take a three-
seated thorough-brace wagon, and drive over to Las Flores Canyon.
Pancho has hired a funny little pack mule; he says we shall need one in
going up the mountain, and that the boys can take him when they go
out shooting,--to carry the deer home, you know.'
'If I can bring Elsie down, as I hope, we must come by land,'