It was a delightful surprise to the girls. They showed
their further appreciation by eating every crumb of the luncheon, while
Jasper contented himself with nibbling at a single sandwich which he held
in one hand, driving the young horse with the other.
In this way they drove into the forest, entered the cool dark shadows of
the big woods, and were greeted with a chorus of piping twitters from
hundreds of forest birds, varied now and then by the hoarse caw of a
distant crow whose voice perhaps had started the woodland chorus. The
fragrance of the woods mingled delightfully with the perfume of the wild
honey-suckle. The Meadow-Brook Girls fell silent under the majesty of the
forest. Tommy was the first to break the spell.
"Thith ith a thpooky old plathe," she declared with a shiver. "Oh, Mr.
Jathper, are there any fairieth in thethe woodth?"
"Any what?"
"Fairies," explained Harriet, smiling absently.
"Never seen none," answered the old man gruffly.
"Isn't it simply glorious?" breathed Hazel.
"It is too wonderful for words," agreed Harriet.
Miss Elting nodded, smiling happily at the enthusiasm of the girls. The
wagon was following an old logging road. Small bushes grew up in the
middle of the road. The wheels sank down into deep ruts that had been cut
by the tires of the heavy logging wagons, but in general the way was free
of obstructions, though the bushes in the road tickled the hide of the
young horse until he began to prance from one side of the road to the
other in an effort to avoid them.
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