urston at the last minute.
"And remember to keep your feet dry."

"In case the camping outfit is not thoroughly satisfactory, Sallie,"
counseled Mr. Stuart, "telegraph to New York for whatever you like. I
believe everything is O. K. Remember to keep your camp fires always
burning. You are to have the most trustworthy guide in the Berkshires, as
well as his wife, to look after you, and you will never be far from
civilization if you wish to go, Sallie?" he ended, for Miss Sallie was
looking dismal at the idea of parting.

Miss Sallie nodded her head. "You know my views, Robert. If you _will_
permit Ruth to follow any wild fancy that pops into her head, at least, I
shall be near to see that she gets into as little mischief as possible."

Mr. Stuart's last whisper before the train started was for Bab. "Don't
worry about your little mother," he said. "We will see that things are
well with her. That copper stock she owns is looking up again. She is not
to sell out."

Mr. Stuart turned to find Ruth for his last kiss. "Remember, daughter,"
he declared, "I rely on you and Bab to keep cool heads and clear brains
in any emergency."

As the train moved off, Mr. Stuart and Mrs. Thurston watched for a few
moments a circle of waving hands. A little later their car swung around a
curve and Kingsbridge was lost to view.

"The Automobile Girls" and Miss Sallie then repaired to the hotel. Grace,
Mollie and Bab were to be Ruth's guests until they started for the
Berkshires. All was in readiness.

The week before, Mr. Stuart had taken the girls to New York for a few
days' shopping. If ever there were young women fitted up in the proper
styles for mountain climbing they were. Each girl was presented with two
pairs of thick, high boots and leather leggins. Ruth insisted that her
heavy wool dress be made of the Stuart plaid. She then had a tam
o'shanter designed from the same Scotch tartan. But Ruth's proudest
possession was a short Norfolk jacket made of the same leather as her
leggins, and a knapsack to carry over her shoulders. Attired in her
woodland costume, she looked not unlike "Rosalind" in Shakespeare's play,
when that maid comes into the woods disguised as a boy to seek for her
father.

Barbara's suit was of dark brown corduroy, with jacket and cap to match.
Grace would choose nothing but her favorite dark blue. But her costume
was the most striking of them all, for, with her blue skirt and blouse,
she was to wear a coat of