The Campfire Girls Go Motoring | Page 4

should be like, and Nyoda couldn't clearly make
out the objects in the room.
"Look out for the Rain Jinx!" called Sahwah, warningly. "If you touch
it it will bring us bad luck instead of good."
But it was too late. Nyoda had stumbled over the pile of things on the
floor, and in falling sent the elements of the Rain Jinx flying in all
directions. Hinpoha flew to light the light and Sahwah picked Nyoda up
out of the mess and set her in a chair, while the rest of us collected the
scattered articles and tidied up the room, and Sahwah painted in lurid
colors to Nyoda the dire consequences of her crime, and made her give
her famous "Wimmen Sufferage" speech as an act of atonement.
The Rain Bird must have forgiven her on the strength of that speech,
for there never was such a perfect blue and gold day as the morning we
started out. I have already told you how we were divided up in the cars.
Gladys in the Striped Beetle went first, carrying with her Hinpoha,
Chapa and Medmangi, and Nyoda drove the Glow-worm right behind
her with Sahwah, Nakwisi and myself. Hinpoha insisted upon bringing
Mr. Bob, her black cocker spaniel, along as a mascot. Of course,
everybody wanted to sit beside the driver and we had to compromise by
planning to change seats every hour to give us all a chance. We all
carried our cameras in our hands to be ready to snap anything worth
while as it came along, and beside that Nakwisi had her spy-glass along
as usual and I had my reporter's note-book. In honor of my being
reporter they let me sit beside Nyoda at the start.

Nakwisi couldn't wait until we got under way and bounced up and
down on the seat with impatience. "What's the matter with you?" said
Sahwah, "You're a regular starting-crank!"
"That will do, Sahwah," said Nyoda, with mock severity. "I want it
distinctly understood that anybody who indulges in puns on this trip is
going to get out and walk."
With that threat she settled herself behind the wheel and turned on the
gasoline, or whatever it is you do to start a car. Thus we started off, like
modern day Innocents Abroad, with the Winnebago banner across the
back of each car, and our green veils fluttering in the breeze. Mr. Evans
waved the paper on which the bet was recorded significantly, and
shouted "Remember!" in a sepulchral tone, and it was plain to be seen
he was sure he would win the bet. He even tempted Fate so far as to
throw an old rubber after us as we departed, instead of an old shoe, to
bring us luck according to the Rain Jinx. It landed in the tonneau of our
car and Sahwah pounced upon it as a favorable omen and kept it for a
mascot.
With a great cheering and waving of handkerchiefs we were off. The
Striped Beetle was just ahead of us in all the glory of its new coat of
paint and its bright banner, and I couldn't help thrilling with pride to
think that I, for once, belonged to such a gay company, I, who all my
life had to be content with shabby things. I suppose we must have cut
quite a figure with our tan suits all alike and our green veils, for people
stopped to look at us as we passed through the streets. It was not long
before we were outside the city limits and running along the western
road toward Toledo.
I always did think September was the prettiest month in which to go
through the country in the lake region on account of the grapes. The
vineyards stretched for miles along the road and the air was sweet with
the perfume of the purple fruit. There were wide corn-fields, too, that
made me think of the poem:
"Up from the meadows rich with corn, Clear in the cool September
morn--"

Oh, there never was such a beautiful country as America, nor such a
happy girl as I! In one place someone had planted a long strip of
brilliant red geraniums through the middle of a green field and the
effect was too gorgeous for description. (I'm glad I noted all those
things and put them down on the first part of the trip, for afterwards I
scarcely thought of looking at the scenery.)
The girls in the car ahead kept shouting back at us and trying to make
up a song about the Striped Beetle, and, of course, we had resurrected
the one-time popular "Glow-worm" song and made the hills and dales
resound with the air of the chorus:
"Shine, little Glow-worm, glimmer, Shine, little Glow-worm, glimmer,
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