f these close at each elbow, and
the others in close masses before, behind, on both sides.

A large building opened before us, a very heavy thick-walled impressive
place, big, and old-looking; of gray stone, not like the rest of the
town.

"This won't do!" said Terry to us, quickly. "We mustn't let them get us
in this, boys. All together, now--"

We stopped in our tracks. We began to explain, to make signs pointing
away toward the big forest--indicating that we would go back to it--at
once.

It makes me laugh, knowing all I do now, to think of us three
boys--nothing else; three audacious impertinent boys--butting into an
unknown country without any sort of a guard or defense. We seemed to
think that if there were men we could fight them, and if there were only
women--why, they would be no obstacles at all.

Jeff, with his gentle romantic old-fashioned notions of women as
clinging vines. Terry, with his clear decided practical theories that
there were two kinds of women--those he wanted and those he didn't;
Desirable and Undesirable was his demarcation. The latter as a large
class, but negligible--he had never thought about them at all.

And now here they were, in great numbers, evidently indifferent to
what he might think, evidently determined on some purpose of their own
regarding him, and apparently well able to enforce their purpose.

We all thought hard just then. It had not seemed wise to object to going
with them, even if we could have; our one chance was friendliness--a
civilized attitude on both sides.

But once inside that building, there was no knowing what these
determined ladies might do to us. Even a peaceful detention was not to
our minds, and when we named it imprisonment it looked even worse.

So we made a stand, trying to make clear that we preferred the open
country. One of them came forward with a sketch of our flier, asking by
signs if we were the aerial visitors they had seen.

This we admitted.

They pointed to it again, and to the outlying country, in different
directions--but we pretended we did not know where it was, and in
truth we were not quite sure and gave a rather wild indication of its
whereabouts.

Again they motioned us to advance, standing so packed about the door
that there remained but the one straight path open. All around us and
behind they were massed solidly--there was simply nothing to do but go
forward--or fight.

We held a consultation.

"I never fought with