The Campfire Girls Go Motoring | Page 2

just as she did that other one
last summer when I observed to Hinpoha that we were going to have
such a quiet time at Onoway House, and sat up and chuckled on the
knees of the gods. In the light of future events it seems to me that it
couldn't have 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 witness
to the things which happened to our party only; but the other girls have
told their tale so many times that it seems as if I had actually
experienced their adventures myself, and so will write everything down
as if I had seen it, without stopping to say Gladys said this or Hinpoha
told me that. It makes a better story so, Nyoda says.
After Gladys's father had told us we might take the two automobiles
and go on a trip by ourselves, he gave us a road map and told us to go
anywhere we liked within a radius of five hundred miles and he would
pay all the bills, provided, we planned and carried out the whole trip by
ourselves, and did not keep telegraphing home for advice unless we got
into serious trouble. All such little troubles as breakdowns, hotels and
traffic rules we were to manage by ourselves. He has a theory that
Gladys should learn to be self-reliant and means to give her every
opportunity to develop resourcefulness. He thinks she has improved
wonderfully since joining the Winnebagos and considered this motor
trip a good way of testing how much she can do for herself. Gladys
scoffed at the idea of wiring home for help when Nyoda was along, for
Nyoda has toured a great deal and once drove her uncle's car home
from Los Angeles when he broke his arm. Gladys's father knew full
well that Nyoda was perfectly capable of engineering the trip or he

never would have proposed it in the first place, but he never can resist
the temptation to tease Gladys, and kept on inquiring anxiously if she
knew which side of the road to stop on and where to go to buy gas.
Gladys, who had driven her own car for three years! Finally, he offered
to bet that we would be wiring home for advice before the end of the
trip and Gladys took him up on it. The outcome was that if we returned
safe and sound without calling for help Mr. Evans would build us a
permanent Lodge in which to hold our Winnebago meetings. Gladys
danced a whole figure dance for joy, for in her mind the Lodge was as
good as built.
How we did pore over that road map, trying to make up our minds
where to go! Nyoda wanted to go to Cincinnati and Gladys wanted to
go to Chicago, and the arguments each one put up for her cause were
side- splitting. Finally, they decided to settle it by a set of tennis. They
played all afternoon and couldn't get a set. We finally intervened and
dragged them from the court in the name of humanity, for the sun was
scorching and we were afraid they would be doing the Sun Dance as
Ophelia did if we didn't rescue them. The score was then 44-44 in
games. So now that neither side had the advantage of the other we did
as we did the time we named the raft at Onoway House--joined forces.
We decided to go both to Cincinnati and Chicago.
As we finally made it out, the route was like this: Cleveland to Chicago
by way of Toledo and Ft. Wayne; Chicago to Indianapolis; Indianapolis
to Louisville. Here Hinpoha got a look at the map and wanted to know
if we couldn't take in Vincennes, because she had been crazy to see the
place since reading Alice of Old Vincennes. So to humor her we
included Vincennes on the road to Louisville, although it was quite a
bit out of the way. Then from Louisville we planned to go up to
Cincinnati and see the Rookwood Pottery that Nyoda is so crazy about
and come back home through Dayton, Springfield and Columbus. We
were all very well pleased with ourselves when we had the route
mapped out at last, and none of us were sorry that Nyoda and Gladys
couldn't agree on Cincinnati or Chicago and had to compromise and
take in both.

Then, when it was decided where we were going, came the no less
important question of what we were to wear on the road. We decided
on our khaki-colored hiking-suits as the shade that would show the dust
the least, and our soft tan regulation Camp Fire hats,