t was hanging over the pommel of her saddle so
that her fair hair was blowing about her face. Now that the sun and wind
had tanned her delicate skin, her blue eyes looked bluer than ever.

Instead of replying, Marta Clark, at this instant, turned her horse with
the intention of riding beside one of the other girls.

Marta Clark was the latest addition to the new group of Sunrise Hill
Camp Fire girls. The summer before she had met them in Arizona where
they were camping at the "End of the Trail." At that time she was living
nearby in a tent with her brother who had been seriously ill. Her
brother's health had improved and he had written a successful play.
Afterwards his marriage to Ellen Deal, one of the older Camp Fire girls,
had made it possible for Marta Clark to accept Mrs. Burton's invitation
to join her Camp Fire group. As her guests they were now traveling
along the Pacific coast, visiting the old Spanish missions.

The King's Highway, called in the old Spanish tongue, _El Camino Real_,
stretches from northern California to the southernmost end.

One of the other Camp Fire girls turned her head as Marta came near her.
All the horses were moving on again.

"I wonder why the automobile has not caught up with us?" Peggy Webster
remarked. "I supposed the car would have passed us long ago. As it is
time for tea, and I am already tired, I think it would have been more
sensible if we had remained together."

The little riding party of six girls was accompanied by a large wagon
filled with a camping outfit. The wagon was drawn by a small pair of
gray mules and driven by a tall, raw-boned man, a typical western
plainsman. Beside him sat a young fellow about seventeen years old. The
wagon was following a few yards behind the riders.

"Then suppose we stop and have tea while we wait and watch for the
others," Bettina Graham proposed, having overheard Peggy's lament.

"I don't believe they could have lost their way, since one has only to
follow the guide posts of the old mission bells. Nevertheless Tante has
a most eccentric fashion of suddenly deciding to explore along small
byways. But they must surely come along here finally."

Peggy Webster shook her head.

"We had best ride on for a little while longer in order to make the
distance we planned to make today. Perhaps by that time the car will
have joined us. In any case we can find a better place to watch and to
prepare tea."

At the present time on each side t