those about the fire at Sagebrush Point.

"If Donald thought we weren't going to make it, why didn't he camp here
himself?" he asked. "Of course it's all right for me, but it's rather
tough on you and Vivian. I should think he'd have thought of that."

Virginia was quick to champion Donald. Indeed Carver Standish III would
have given much for the place Donald held in Virginia's estimation.

"Why, Carver," she said, frank in her displeasure, "Donald's one of the
most thoughtful persons in the world. Malcolm and Aunt Nan were over at
Sagebrush, and he couldn't get word to them before dark. Besides, he knows
I'm not afraid to camp by ourselves. They're right across on Sagebrush,
and there's nothing in this world to harm us. Of course he wouldn't have
gone on for anything if you hadn't been here, but he knew he could depend
on you."

The knowledge of New England ancestry could not keep Carver Standish from
feeling small as he unsaddled the horses, and tied them in among the
trees. Then, considering work a good antidote, he cut brush and brought
dry sticks for a fire. A dead cedar promised logs enough for the night,
and these Carver cut, trimmed, and piled. Vivian, unable as yet to
comprehend the situation, stood looking off toward the fire on the point,
and wished with all her heart that she had wings. Virginia unstrapped the
blankets and laid them upon a fallen log. Then, the big revolver in her
hand, she waited only for the fire to give those watching on Sagebrush the
signals agreed upon. At last the flame-colored smoke burst into tongues of
fire, leaping, crackling tongues which told the anxious watchers on
Sagebrush that the note had been found and that all was well. A moment
later three shots from the mountain opposite tore away the stillness.
Donald sent back an answering three. Then five in quick succession came
from Virginia's revolver.

"It's the old signal we've always used in hunting," Donald explained to
Mary, Priscilla, and Jack who were standing beside him. "It means, 'We're
going to camp here.' I knew Virginia would decide on that. She always does
the sensible thing anyway," he added proudly.

Malcolm and Aunt Nan, standing near the water's edge, watched the flames
of Virginia's fire as they blazed skyward.

"I've never quite realized before what Virginia's made of," said Aunt Nan
thoughtfully. "If her Grandmother Webster were here this minute, I think
perhaps she'd realize that there _are_ qualities w