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Goodness, gracious, me! cried Agnes. It cant be so, Neale!
Its empty, the boy assured her.
And we stuck on this lonely road! gasped Mrs. Heard. No telling when another auto will come by.
Oh, dear, Neale! murmured Ruth, how could you be so careless?
Its the easiest thing in the world to forget, the boy replied, with a quick grin.
It was real smart of Sammy to remember about the gosoling, I think, said Dot.
Gasoline little goose, observed Tess, correcting her smaller sister, as she often did.
Agnes laughed outright. Well, gosling is a little goose, sure enough, Dot. Then she added: Now, Neale! what are you going to do?
Neale ONeil had opened the road guide and thumbed several of its pages.
Last place we passed where gasoline is for sale, as I figure it, is twenty miles away.
Oh! was the chorused groan.
But here! added the boy, with sudden enthusiasm, Procketts is but five miles ahead.
What is Procketts? demanded Agnes.
Who is Procketts? added Ruth.
A village. Gasoline
is sold there, declared Neale ONeil, confidently.
But five miles! cried Mrs. Heard. Will you have to walk there and bring back the gasoline yourself? That is too bad!
Neale smiled more broadly and returned the book to his pocket.
Well run along to Procketts and get our fill of gas. It wont take long, he said.
But, Neale! Ruth began.
How can we? cried Agnes.
Did you say the tank was empty, young man? demanded Mrs. Heard.
Not a drop in it, agreed the boy, answering the chaperones question. But you see and he bent over and manipulated a small cock, heres the emergency tank. Thats always filled, you know; and it will run us to Procketts, all right.
Well, you awful boy! cried Agnes, half angrily. You let us think we were stuck here.
Cricky! ejaculated Neale ONeil. Didnt you all just jump on me for being careless and thoughtless? And none of you thought of the emergency tank. A fellows got to protect himself when hes alone with a parcel of females, and he chuckled.
You aint alone, Neale. Im with you, declared Sammy Pinkney, suddenly.
The girls shouted with laughter; but Neale said, preserving his gravity:
Thanks, old chap. I guess we menfolk will have to pull together in self-defence.
They came to the next village in the course of time, and Neale bought gasoline. Before one oclock they reached a delightfully wooded place for camping, and proceeded to have lunch as they had made it the previous day. They all declared these rustic meals to be the best of all.
Just beyond the little grove was a pasture, and, looking between the bars of the old stake and rider fence, Tess and Dot saw that the open space was studded with flowers of several kinds.
Lets pick some for Ruthie, Tess suggested.
Lets. And for Mrs. Heard, agreed Dot.
She ran back for the Alice-doll for of course that precious child had to pick flowers, too and to tell the older girls what they purposed doing.
Mrs. Heard was taking a nap in the car, which stood in the shade by the roadside; the older girls were clearing up after the lunch. Neale and Sammy had gone in the opposite direction, across the road, where there was a pond and the promise of a bath, and Tom Jonah had gone with them.
So nobody gave the little girls much attention when they crept through the fence and out of sight of the camping place.
Tess and Dot did not intend to go far. There were plenty of flowers in sight of the place where they entered the pasture.
But you know how it is. The patches of blossoms at a distance appeared much more inviting than those close to the fence. The little girls ran from one to another patch, calling each other, delighted to find such a wealth of lovely, brilliant blossoms.
I never did see such a lot of flowers in all my life, Dot Kenway! cried Tess.
Maybe this is the place where all the flowers started from, suggested the philosophical younger sister.
Where all the flowers started from? repeated Tess. What do you mean, Dot Kenway?
Why, didnt the flowers have to start somewhere like everything else? Our teacher says everything has had a beginning like the first horses, and the first cow, and and Adam and Eve, I spose.
Humph! said the less orthodox Tess, who told you there had to be a first flower, anyway? Nonsense!
How did they come, then, if they didnt spread oh! all around from some place like this? demanded Dot, quite excited.
Oh, they just came , declared Tess. I suppose, she added, reverently, that God just thought flowers, and at once there were flowers everywhere.
Dot stood up, picking up the Alice-doll, and holding all the blossoms she could carry in her other hand.
Well, she said, softly, looking out across the field so spangled with the gay flowers, He must have thought hard about em when He made this place, Tessie, for theres so many.
The next moment the smallest Corner House girl forgot all her unfledged philosophy, for she suddenly shrieked:
Oh, Tess! Oh, Tess! Look at that awful, terrible bull !
Tess was so startled by her sisters cry that she jumped up, scattering the blossoms she had herself gathered.