er
her road map. When I sat up she glanced over at me.

"I think I know where we are now, Lizzie," she said. "Thunder Cloud
Mountain is on our left, and that hill there to the right is the
Camel's Back. The road goes right up Thunder Cloud Glen."

I looked at the fire, which was out; at Modestine, standing meekly by
the tree to which he was tied; at the raindrops bounding off Aggie's
round and prostrate figure--and I rebelled. Every muscle was sore; it
hurt me even to yawn.

"Letitia Carberry!" I said indignantly. "You don't mean to tell me that,
rain or no rain, you are going on?"

"Certainly I am going on," said Tish, shutting her jaw. "You and Aggie
needn't come. I'm sure you asked yourselves; I didn't."

Well, that was true, of course. I crawled out and, going over, prodded
at Aggie with my foot.

"Aggie," I said, "it is raining and Tish is going on anyhow. Will you go
on with her or start back home with me?"

But Aggie refused to do either. She was terribly stiff and she had slept
near a bed of May-apple blossoms. In the twilight she had not noticed
them, and they always bring her hay-fever.

"I'b goi'g to stay right here," she said firmly between sneezes. "You
cad go back or forward or whatever you please; I shad't bove."

Tish was marking out a route on the road map by making holes with a
hairpin, and now she got up and faced us.

"Very well," she said. "Then get your things out of the suitcase, which
happens to be mine. Lizzie, the canned beans and the sardines are yours.
Aggie, your potato salad is in those six screw-top jars. Come,
Modestine."

She untied the beast and, leading him over, loaded her sleeping-bag and
her share of the provisions on his back. She did not glance at us. At
the last, when she was ready, she picked up her rifle and turned to us.

"I may not be back for a week or ten days," she said icily. "If I'm
longer than two weeks you can start Charlie Sands out with a posse."

Charlie Sands is her nephew.

"Come, Modestine," said Tish again, and started along. It was raining
briskly by that time, and thundering as if a storm was coming. Aggie
broke down suddenly.

"Tish! Tish!" she wailed. "Oh, Lizzie, she'll never get back alive.
Never! We've killed her."

"She's about killed us!" I snarled.

"She's coming back!"

Sure enough, Tish had turned and was stalking back in our direction.

"I ought to leave you where you are," she said disagreeably, "but it's
going to storm. If