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Camp-Fire Girls at Twin Lakes or The Quest of a Summer Vacation

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<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2><h3>FURTHER PLANS.</h3> “Now, girls,” said Miss Ladd, addressing Katherine and Hazel, “let me hear what your plan is, if you have any. If you haven’t any, we must get busy and work one out, for you must not start such an enterprise without having some idea as to how you should go about it. But I will assume that a suggestion must have come to you as to how best to get the first information we want or you would not have volunteered.” “Can’t we work out an honor plan as we decide upon our duties and how we are to perform them?” Hazel inquired. “Certainly,” the Guardian replied, “I was going to suggest that very thing. What would you propose, Hazel?” “Well, something like this,” the latter replied: “that each of us be assigned to some specific duty to perform in the work before it, and that we be awarded honors for performing those duties intelligently and successfully.” “Very well. I suppose this work you and Katherine have selected may count toward the winning of a bead for each of you. But what will you do after you have finished this task, which can hardly consume more than a few hours?” “Why not make them a permanent squad of scouts to go out and gather advance information needed at any time before we can determine what to do?” Marion Stanlock suggested. “That’s a good idea,” Miss Ladd replied. “But it will have to come up at a business meeting of the Camp Fire in order that honors may be awarded regularly. Meanwhile I will appoint you two girls as scouts of the Fire, and this can be confirmed at the next business meeting. We will also stipulate the condition on which honors will be awarded. But how will you go about to get the information we now need?” “First, I would look in the general residence directory to find out where the Grahams live,” Katherine replied. “Yes, that is perhaps the best move to make first. But the chances are you will get nothing there. Can you tell me why?” “Because there are probably few summer cottages within the city limits,” Hazel volunteered. “Exactly,” the Guardian agreed. “Well, if the city directory fails to give you any information, what would you do next?” “Consult a telephone directory,” Katherine said quickly. “Fine!” Miss Ladd exclaimed. “What then?” “They probably have a telephone; wouldn’t be much society folks if they didn’t,” Katherine continued; “and there would, no doubt, be some sort of address for them in the ’phone book.” “Yes.” “And that would give us some sort of guide for beginning our search. We wouldn’t have to use the names of the people we are looking for.” “That is excellent!” Miss Ladd exclaimed enthusiastically. “If you two scouts use your heads as cleverly as that all the time, you ought to get along fine in your work. But go on. What next would you do?” “Go and find out where the people live. That needn’t be hard. Then we’d look over the lay of the land to see if there were a good place nearby for us to pitch our tents.” “Yes,” put in Hazel; “and if we found a good place nearby, we’d begin the real work that we came here to do by going to the Graham house and asking who owns the land.” “Fine again,” Miss Ladd said. “I couldn’t do better myself, maybe not as well. I did think of going with you on your first trip, but I guess I’ll leave it all to you. Let’s go back to the hotel now, and while you two scouts are gone scouting, the rest of us will find something to entertain us. Maybe we’ll take a motorboat ride.” They started back at once and were soon at the hotel. Katherine and Hazel decided that they would not even look for the address of the Grahams in the directories at the hotel, but would go to a drug store on the main business street for this information. The other girls waited on the hotel portico while they were away on this mission. They were gone about twenty minutes and returned with a supply of picture postcards to mail to their friends. On a piece of paper Katherine had written an address and she showed it to Miss Ladd. Here is what the latter read: “Stony Point.” “That’s about three miles up the lake,” Hazel said. “We thought we’d hire an automobile and go up there.” “Do,” said Miss Ladd approvingly. “And we’ll take a motorboat and ride up that way too, if we can get one. Oh, I have the idea now. We’ll make it a double inspection, part by land and part from the lake. We’ll meet you at a landing at Stony Point, if there is one, and will bring you back in the boat. Now, you, Katherine and Hazel, wait here while I go and find a motorboatman and make arrangements with him.” “I’ll go with you,” said Violet Munday. The Guardian and Violet hastened down toward the main boat landing while the other twelve girls waited eagerly for a successful report on this part of the proposed program. <hr class="major" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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