Books: The Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake
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Laura Lee Hope >> The Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake
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"Yes, those are fine olives," admitted the store keeper. "I get them
from New York.
"Olives stuffed, and some with pits,
With girls my olives sure make hits."
He chanted this with a bow and a smile.
"I am aware," he said, "I am aware that the foregoing may sound like a
baseball game, but such is not my intention. I use hit in the sense of
meaning that it is well-liked."
"Too well liked-- I mean the olives," spoke Mollie. "We can't keep
enough on hand. I think we'll have to buy them by the case after
this."
"As Grace does her chocolates," remarked Betty, with a smile that took
all the sarcasm out of the words.
"Well," remarked Grace, drawlingly, "I have noticed that you girls are
generally around when I open a fresh box."
"Well hit!" cried Amy. "Don't let them fuss you, Grace my dear."
"I don't intend to."
Mr. Lagg helped his red-haired boy of all work to carry the girls'
purchases down to the boat.
"You must be fixing for a long voyage," he remarked.
"No, we are going to camp over on Elm Island," said Betty.
The storekeeper started.
"What! With the ghost?" He nearly dropped a package of fresh eggs.
"Really, Mr. Lagg, is there-- er-- anything really there?" asked
Mollie, seriously.
"Well, now, far be it from me to cause you young ladies any alarm,"
said Mr. Lagg, "but I only repeat what I heard. There is something on
that island that none of the men or boys who have seen and heard it
cannot account for."
"Just what is it?" asked Betty,
"Do you want me to tell you?"
"Certainly-- we are not afraid. Though we mustn't let Aunt Kate know,"
said Betty, quickly.
"Well, it's white and it rattles," said Mr. Lagg.
"Sounds like a riddle," commented Amy. "Let's see who can guess the
answer."
"White-- and rattles," murmured Betty. "I have it-- it's a pan full of
white dishes. Some lone camper goes down to wash his dishes in the
lake every night, and that accounts for it."
"Then we'll ask the lone camper-- to scamper!" cried Grace with a
laugh. "We want peace and quietness."
"And you are really going to camp on Elm Island?" asked Mr. Lagg, as
he put the purchases aboard.
"We are," said Betty, solenmly. "And if you hear us call for help in
the middle of the night---- "
"Betty Nelson!" protested Amy.
"And if for help you call on I--
I'll come exceeding quick and spry!"
Thus spouted Mr. Lagg.
"I am painfully aware," he said, quickly, "that my poem on this
occasion needs much polishing, but I sometimes make them that way,
just to show what can be done-- on the spur of the moment. Howsomever,
I wish you luck. And if you do need help, just holler, or light a fire
on shore, or fire a gun. I can see you or hear you from the end of my
dock." Indeed, Elm Island was in sight.
The girls went back with their supplies, and soon were in camp. The
hard part of the work had been done for them by those of whom they had
hired the tent and the outfit. All that remained to do was to light
the patent oil stove, and cook. They could prepare their meals aboard
the boat if they desired, and take them to the dining tent. In short
they could take their choice of many methods of out-door life.
Their supplies were put away, the camp gotten in "ship-shape," cots
were made up, and mosquito bars suspended to insure a night of
comfort. A little tour was made of the island in the vicinity of the
camp, and, as far as the girls could see, occasional picnic parties
were the only visitors. There were no other campers there.
"We'll have a marshmallow roast to-night," decided Betty, as evening
came on. They had gathered wood for a fire on the shore of the lake,
and the candy had been provided by Grace, as might have been guessed.
"I hope the ghost doesn't come and want some," murmured Mollie.
"Hush!" exclaimed Betty. A noise in the woods made them all jump. Then
they laughed, as a bird flew out.
"Our nerves are not what they should be," said Betty. "We must calm
down. I wonder did we get any pickles?"
"I saw him put some in," spoke Grace.
"Then let's have supper, and we'll go out for a ride on the lake
afterward," suggested Betty.
"Maybe the ghost will carry off our camp," remarked Amy.
"Don't you dare let Aunt Kate hear you say that or she'll run away!"
cried Betty. "Come on, everyone help get supper, and we'll be through
early," and, gaily humming she began to set the table that stood under
a canvas shelter in front of the big tent.
CHAPTER XIX
A QUEER DISTURBANCE
"Have we blankets enough?"
"It's sure to be cool before morning."
"We can burn the oil stove turned down love-- that will make the tent
warm."
"Oh, but it makes it so close and-- er-- smelly."
They all laughed at that.
Betty and her chums were preparing to spend their first night in camp
on Elm Island, in the tent. They had had supper-- eating with fine
appetites-- and after a little run about the lake had tied up at the
small dock near their tent.
"A lantern would be a good thing to burn," said Aunt Kate. "That will
give some warmth, too."
"And we can see better, if-- if anything comes!" exclaimed Amy,
evidently with an effort.
"Anything-- what do you mean?" demanded Mollie, as she combed out her
long hair, preparatory to braiding it.
"Well, I mean-- er-- anything!" and again Amy faltered.
"Oh, girls she means-- the ghost!" exclaimed Betty, with a laugh. "Why
not say it?"
"Don't!" pleaded Grace.
"Now look here," went on practical Betty. "There's no use evading this
matter. There's no such thing as a ghost, of that we are certain, and
yet if we shy at mentioning it all the while it will only make us more
nervous."
"The idea! I'm not nervous a bit," declared Mollie.
"Well, then," resumed Betty, "there's no use in being afraid to use
the word, as Amy seemed to be. So talk ghost all you like-- you can't
scare me. I'm so tired I know I'll sleep soundly, and I hope the rest
of you will. Only, for goodness sakes, don't be talking in weird
whispers. That is far worse than all the ghosts in creation."
"That's what I say!" exclaimed Aunt Kate, who was an old-fashioned,
motherly soul. "If the ghost comes I'm going to talk to it, and ask
how things are-- er-- on the other side. Girls, it's a great privilege
to have a ghostly friend. If the man who owns this island knew what
was good for him he'd advertise the fact that it was haunted. If Mr.
Lagg were here I'd get him to make up a poem about the ghost. That
would scare it off, if anything could."
"That's the way to talk!" cried Betty, cheerfully. "And now for a good
night's rest. Bur-- r-- r-- r! It is cold!" and she shivered.
"I'm going to get some more blankets from the boat," declared Mollie.
"I know we'll be glad of them before morning. Come along with me,
Grace," she added, after a moment's pause, as she took up one of the
lanterns. "You can help carry them."
"And scare away the----" began Amy.
"Indeed, I wasn't thinking a thing about it!" insisted Mollie, with
emphasis. "And I'll thank you to---- "
She began in that impetuous style, that usually presaged a burst of
temper, and Betty looked distressed. But Mollie corrected her fault
almost before she had committed it.
"Excuse me, Amy," she said, contritely. "I know what you mean. Will
you come, Grace?"
"Of course. I'll be glad of some extra coverings myself."
The two girls were back in remarkably short time.
"You didn't stay long," commented Betty, drily. "it's only a step to
the dock," answered Mollie, as she and Grace deposited their arm-loads
of blankets on the cots.
Then after the talk and laughter had died away, quiet gradually
settled down in the camp tent. The Outdoor Girls were trying to go to
sleep, but one and all, afterward, even Aunt Kate, complained that it
was difficult. Whether it was the change from the boat, or the talk of
the ghost, none could say. At any rate there were uneasy turnings from
side to side, and as each cot squeaked in a different key, and as one
or the other was constantly "singing," the result may be imagined.
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Grace, impatiently, after a half-hour of
comparative quiet, "I know I'll never get to sleep. Do you girls mind
if I sit up and read a little? That always makes me drowsy, and I've
got a book that needs finishing." Only Aunt Kate was slumbering.
"Got any chocolates that need eating?" asked Mollie, with a laugh, in
which they all joined, half-hysterically.
"Yes, I have!" with emphasis. "But, just for that you won't get any."
"I don't want them! You couldn't hire me to eat candy at night," and
again Mollie flared up.
"Girls, girls!" besought Betty. "This will never do! We will all be
rags in the morning."
"Polishing rags then, I hope," murmured Amy. "My hands are black from
the oil stove-- it smoked, and I'll need a cake of sand-soap to get
clean again."
"Well, I can't stand this-- I'm too fidgety!" declared Grace. "I'm
going to sit up a little while, and read. I'm going to eat a
chocolate, too. I'll give you some, Mollie, if you like. I bought a
fresh box of Mr. Lagg.
"Chocolates they are nice and sweet,
Good for man and beast to eat."
"Give me a young lady-like brand," suggested Amy.
"Why don't we all of us sit up a while, and-- I have it-- we'll make a
pot of chocolate," exclaimed Mollie. "That will make us all sleep, and
warm us-- it is getting real chilly already."
"Perhaps that will be best," agreed Betty, as she donned her heavy
dressing gown and warm slippers, for the tent was cool even in July.
Soon there was the aroma of chocolate in the little cooking shelter,
and the girls sat around, in various picturesque and comfortable
attitudes, sipping the warm beverage and nibbling the crisp crackers.
Then gradually their nerves quieted down, and even Grace, more aroused
than any of the others, began to feel drowsy. One by one they again
sought their cots, and finally a series of deep breathings told of
much-needed sleep.
It must have been long after midnight when Betty was suddenly aroused
by a queer noise. She had slept heavily, and at first she was not
fully aware of her surroundings, nor what had awakened her. Then she
became conscious of a curious heavy breathing, as of some animal. She
sat up in alarm, her heart pounding furiously. Her throat went dry.
"Girls-- girls!" she gasped, hoarsely. "Aunt Kate!"
The latter was the first to reply. Quickly reaching out to the lantern
near her, she turned up the wick. Following the sudden illumination in
the tent there was a cracking in the underbrush near it.
"Oh!" screamed Grace, sitting up. "What is it?"
"I'm going to look!" said Mollie, resolutely.
"Don't! Don't!" pleaded Amy, but Mollie was already at the flap of the
tent, which she quickly loosed. Then she screamed.
"Look! It's white! It's white!"
Betty, forcing herself to action, stood beside her chum. She was just
in time to see some-thing big and white run down toward the lake.
There was a clash and jingling as of chains, and a splashing of water.
Then the white thing disappeared, and the girls stood staring at one
another, trembling violently.
CHAPTER XX
THE STORM
Grace "draped" herself over the nearest cot. Amy followed her example,
with the added distinction that she covered her head with the
blankets. Betty and Mollie stood clinging to each other.
"Though I don't think they were any braver than we," declared Grace
afterward. "They simply couldn't fall down, for Betty wanted to go one
way and Grace the other. So they just naturally held each other up."
"I couldn't stand," declared Amy. "My, knees shook so."
Aunt Kate was the first to speak after the apparition had passed away,
seeming to lose itself in the lake.
"Girls, have you any idea what it was?" she asked.
"The-- the--" began Amy. "Oh, I can't say it!" she wailed from beneath
the covers.
"Don't be silly!" commanded Betty, sharply. "If you mean-- ghost-- say
so," but she herself hesitated over the word.
"If that was the ghost it was the queerest one I ever saw!" declared
Mollie, with resolution. "I don't just mean that, either," she
hastened to add, "for I never saw a ghost before. But in all the
stories I ever read ghosts were tall and thin, of the willowy type----
"
"Like Grace," put in Betty, with rather a wan smile.
"Don't you dare compare me to a ghost!" commanded the Gibson girl,"
with energy that brought the blood to her pale cheeks. She ventured to
peer out from under the tent flap now. "Is it-- is it gone?" she
faltered.
"It's in the lake-- whatever it was," said Mollie. "But wasn't it
oddly shaped, Betty?"
"It was indeed. And it made plenty of noise. Real ghosts never do
that."
"Oh, some do!" asserted Amy. "I read the 'Ghost of the Stone Castle,'
a most fascinating story, and that ghost always rattled chains, and
made a terrible noise."
"What did it turn out to be?" asked Aunt Kate.
"The story didn't say. No one ever found out."
"Well, this one is exactly like Mr. Lagg described," spoke Grace,
"chains and all. What could it have been?"
"I imagine," said Betty, slowly, "that it may be some wild animal----
"
Grace screamed.
"What is it now?" asked Betty, regarding her.
"Don't say wild animals-- they're worse than ghosts!"
"Nonsense! Don't be silly! I mean it may he some wild animal, like a
fox or deer that has been caught in a trap. Traps have chains on them,
you know. This animal may have been caught some time ago, have pulled
the chain loose, and the poor thing may be going around with the trap
still fastened to him. That would account for the rattling."
"Yes," said Mollie, "that may be so, and there may be white foxes, but
I never heard of any outside of Arctic regions. But, Betty Nelson,
there never was a fox as large as that. Why it was as-- as big as our
tent!"
"Yes, and how it sniffed and breathed!" added Betty. "I guess it
couldn't be a wild animal. It may have been a cow. I wonder if any
campers here keep a white cow?"
"A cow would moo," declared Grace.
"But whatever it was, it was frightened at the light," said Aunt Kate,
practically, "so I don't think we need to be afraid of it-- whatever
it was. We'll leave a light outside the tent the rest of the night,
and it won't come back."
"I'm going to sleep in the boat!" declared Grace.
"Nonsense!" cried Betty. "Don't be a deserter! Have some more
chocolate, and we'll all go to sleep," and they finally persuaded
Grace to remain. It took some little time to get their nerves quiet,
but finally they all fell into a more or less uneasy slumber that
lasted until morning. The "ghost" did not return.
Wan, and with rather dark circles under their eyes, the girls got
breakfast the next morning. The meal put them in better spirits, and
when they bustled around about the camp duties they, forgot their
scare of the night before.
They made a partial tour of the island, though some parts were too
densely wooded and swampy to penetrate. But such parts as they visited
showed the presence of no other campers. They were alone on Elm
Island, save for an occasional picnic party, several evidently having
been there the day before.
"Then that-- thing-- couldn't have been a cow," said Grace,
positively.
"Make up a new theory," suggested Betty, with a laugh. "One thing,
though, we're not going to let it drive us away, are we-- not away
from our camp?"
The others did not answer for a moment, and then Mollie exclaimed:
"I'm going to stay-- for one."
"So am I!" declared Aunt Kate, vigorously. "A light will keep whatever
animal it is away, and I'm sure it was that. Of course we'll stay!"
There was nothing for Grace and Amy to do but give in-- which they
did, rather timidly, be it confessed.
"And now let's go for a ride," proposed Betty, after lunch. "There are
some things I want to get at Mr. Lagg's store."
"Will you tell him about the-- ghost?" asked Grace.
"Certainly not. It may be," said Betty, "that some one is playing a
joke on us. In that case we'll not give him the satisfaction of
knowing that we saw anything. We will keep silent, girls." And they
did.
"Matches, soap and oil and butter,
Business gives me such a flutter."
Mr. Lagg recited this as Betty gave her order.
"Have you seen the ghost?" he asked.
"Oh!" cried Grace, "you have in some fresh chocolates! I must have
some."
"You'll find my chocolates sweet and good,
To eat on lake or in the wood!"
Mr. Lagg's attention being diverted to a net subject, he did not press
his question. Thus the girls escaped committing themselves.
"I think we are going to have a storm," remarked Betty, when they were
under way again, cruising down the lake toward Triangle Island, where
they expected to call on some friends. "And as Rainbow gets rough very
quickly, I think we shall turn back."
"Yes, do," urged Amy. "I detest getting wet."
"The cabin is dry," urged Grace.
"We had better go back," urged Aunt Kate, and the prow of the Gem was
swung around. Other boats, too small or not staunch enough to weather
the blow that was evidently preparing, had turned about for a run to
shore. There passed Betty's craft the two boys whose canoe had been
taken.
"Any luck?" asked Betty, interestedly.
"No, we haven't found a trace of it yet," the older one replied.
In the West dark masses of vapor were piling up, and now and then the
clouds were split by a jagged chain of lightning, while the
ever-in-creasing rumble of thunder told of the onrush of the storm.
"We're going to get caught!" declared Mollie. "I guess I'll close the
ports, Betty."
"Do; and bring out my raincoat, please."
Attired in this protective garment over her sailor suit, the Little
Captain stood at the wheel.
With a blast that flecked the crests of the waves into foam, with a
rattle and roar, and a vicious swish of rain, the storm broke over the
Gem while she was yet a mile from the camp on Elm Island. The boat
heeled over, for her cabin was high and offered a broad surface to the
wind.
"We'll capsize!" screamed Amy.
"We will not!" exclaimed Betty, above the noise. She shifted the wheel
to bring the boat head-on to the waves, and this made her ride on a
more even keel. Then, with a downpour, accompanied by terrific thunder
and vivid lightning, the storm broke. Betty bravely stood to her post,
the others offering to relieve her, but she would not give up the
wheel, and remained there until the little dock was reached. Then,
making snug their craft, they raced for the tent. It had stood up
well, for it was protected from the gale by big elm trees. Soon they
were in shelter.
And then, almost as suddenly as it had come up, the storm passed. The
clouds seemed to melt away, and the sun came out, the shower passing
to the East.
Grace, who had gone out on the end of the dock, called to the others.
"Oh, come on and see it!"
"What-- the ghost?" inquired Mollie.
"No, but the most beautiful rainbow I ever saw-- a double one!"
They came beside her, and Grace pointed to where, arching the heavens,
were two bows of many colors, one low down, vivid and perfect, the
other above it-- a fainter reflection. As the sun came out from behind
the clouds the colors grew brighter.
"How lovely!" murmured Amy, clasping her hands.
"Yes, it is the most brilliant bow I have ever seen," added Aunt Kate.
"It seems almost like like a painted one." I would be more poetical if
I were Mr. Lagg," and she laughed.
"It is very vivid," went on Betty. "In fact I have heard it said that
on account of the peculiar situation of this lake, the high mountains
around it, and the clouds, there are brighter rainbows here than
anywhere else in this country. That is how the lake got its name--
Rainbow. It was the Indians who first gave it that, I was told, though
I don't know the Indian name for rainbow."
"We don't need to-- this is beautiful as it is," murmured Grace. "Oh,
isn't it wonderful!" and they stood there admiring the beautiful
scene, and recalling the old story of the bow-- the promise of the
Creator after the flood that never again would the world be submerged.
Then the light gradually died from the colored arches, to be repeated
again in the wonderful cloud effects at sunset. The storm had been
like the weeping of a little child, who smiles before its tears-- and
afterward.
CHAPTER XXI
THE GHOST
"Girls, there are letters for each of us!" exclaimed Betty.
"Any for me?" asked Aunt Kate.
"Yes, a nice-- adipose-- that is to say, fleshy one," exclaimed
Mollie, passing it over. It was bulky.
The girls had stopped at the store of Mr. Lagg, where they had sent
word to have their mail forwarded. The occasion was a morning visit
several days after they had established their camp on Elm Island.
"Any news?" asked Betty of Mollie, the former having finished a brief
note from home, stating that all were well.
"Yes, poor little Dodo is to go to the specialist to be operated on
this week. Oh, it does seem as if I ought to go home, and yet mamma
writes that I am to stay and enjoy myself. She says there is
practically no danger, and that there is great hope of success. Aunt
Kittie-- Dodo was at her house when the accident happened, you know--
Aunt Kittie has come to stay with mamma. Every one else is well,
including Paul.
"Oh, but I shall be so anxious until it is over! They are going to let
me know as soon as it is. Are we going to stay around here, where I
can get word quickly?"
"Yes, we will remain on Elm Island, I think," said Betty. "There is no
use in cruising about too much when we are so comfortable there, and
really it is lovely in the woods."
"As long as the ghost doesn't bother us," spoke Amy.
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Betty. "What is your news, Grace?"
"Oh, Will writes that he and Frank are coming up to camp on the island
near us."
"That will be fine!" exclaimed Betty. "When will they get here?"
"Allen can't come up until the week-end," went on Grace. "He has to
take some kind of bar examinations. For the-- high jump, I think."
"Silly!" reproved Betty, with a blush.
"But Will told me to tell you specially that Allen is coming," went on
Grace. "They can stay a few days."
"It will be fine," cried Mollie. "Any news about the papers, Grace?"
"Not a word, and no trace of Prince."
"That is queer," said Betty. "But we will live in hopes-- that Dodo
will be all right, and that the papers will be found."
"Indeed we will," sighed Grace. Mr. Lagg was bowing and smiling behind
his counter while the girls were reading their letters.
"What will it be? What will it be? What will it be to-day?
Be pleased to leave an order, before you go away!"
"Really, I don't believe we need a thing," answered Mollie, in answer
to this poetical effusion. "We might have---- "
"Some more olives," interrupted Grace. "They are so handy to eat, if
you wake up in the night, and can't sleep."
"Shades of Morpheus preserve us!" laughed Mollie. "Olives!"
"Does the ghost keep you awake?" asked the storekeeper.
"Not-- not lately!" answered Betty, truthfully.
"The ghost! The ghost! with clanking chains,
It comes out only when-- it rains!"
Thus Amy anticipated Mr. Lagg.
"Very good-- very good!" he commended. "I must write that down. Hank
Lefferton was over setting eel pots on the island last night, and he
said he seen it."
"The ghost?" faltered Betty.
"Yep. Chains and all."
"Well, we didn't," said Aunt Kate, decidedly. "Come along, girls."
They had written some souvenir cards, which they mailed, and again
they went sailing about Rainbow Lake.
Several days passed. The girls went on little trips, on picnics,
cruised about and spent delightful hours in the woods. They thoroughly
enjoyed the camp, and the "ghost" did not annoy them. Mollie waited
anxiously for news from home, but none came.
Then the boys arrived, with their camping paraphernalia, and in such
bubbling good spirits that the girls were infected with them, for they
had become rather lonesome of late.
The boys pitched their tent near that of the girls, and many meals
were eaten in common. Then one night it happened!
It was late, and after a jolly session-- a marshmallow roast, to be
exact-- they had all retired. No one remained awake now, for the girls
had become used to their surroundings, and the boys-- Allen included,
for he had come up-- were sound sleepers.
There was a crash of underbrush, a series of snorts-- no other word
describes them-- and the screaming girls, hastening to their tent
flaps, cried:
"The ghost! The ghost!"
"Get after it, fellows!" called Will, as he recognized his sister's
voice. "We'll lay this chap-- whoever he is!"
There was a vision of something white, again that rattling of chains,
and a plunge into the lake. Then all was still.
CHAPTER XXII
WHAT MOLLIE FOUND
"Did you get-- it?"
Betty hesitated a moment over the question.
Will, Frank and Allen stood just outside the tent of the girls. They
had come back from a hurried race after the white object that had
again disturbed the slumbers of the campers.
"We only had a glimpse of it," answered Will. "Then it seemed to melt
into the water."
"But it was big," said Frank.
"And made lots of noise," added Allen.
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