The Outdoor Girls in Army Service; Or, Doing Their Bit for the Soldier Boys

by Laura Lee Hope

  CHAPTER XXIII

  JUST FRIENDS

  "Here comes the sun," cried Betty, "the sun, the sun, the beautifulsun."

  "Well, I should say it was just about time," said Grace, carefullyarranging her hat before the mirror. "If it hadn't cleared up prettysoon, I'd have stopped hoping. Are the other girls nearly ready?"

  "Oh, we've been ready and waiting for hours," came Mollie's voice,slightly bored, from the other room. "And we took our time, too,because we knew how long you are getting dressed----"

  "Oh, is that so?" Grace was beginning, when Betty interruptedpeaceably.

  "Well, we're all ready now. In the words of the army--'let's go.'"

  "Oh, it is lovely out!" cried Mollie, drawing in deep breaths of theinvigorating air, as they stood on the steps looking down the street."I feel like walking miles and miles and miles."

  As the four girls walked down to the main gate of the cantonment,they nodded and smiled continually to the khaki-clad,respectfully-saluting boys they passed; for the fame of the girlsat the Hostess House had spread all over the barracks, and the boysalways looked forward to catching a smile or two or a merry word asthey passed.

  Many there were who had been sentimentally inclined, but the Deepdaleboys had well nigh monopolized the girls from their home town and bytheir actions had warned off all would-be intruders almost as plainlyas though they had put out a sign.

  There were some hardy souls, however, who refused to recognize anyprior claim, and these had caused much grumbling among the Deepdaleboys.

  "I wonder what will happen when we have to go across," Frank had saidonce. "I suppose then those chaps will think they have it all theirown way."

  And the bright faces of the girls had clouded so suddenly and theyhad looked so distressed that poor Frank never dared repeat theoffense.

  But stopping every few minutes to speak to some one you know,necessarily makes progress slow, and it was some time before thegirls succeeded in reaching the gate and turning their steps towardthe country.

  "It doesn't seem possible that Thanksgiving can be so near," said Amythoughtfully. "I never knew time to run away so."

  "Yes, it makes me feel dizzy sometimes," said Mollie, with a littleperplexed frown. "I feel as if I wanted to get hold of him by theforelock and hold him back. He's in altogether too much of a hurry."

  "If we can only see that each one of the boys who can't go home forThanksgiving gets a regular, old-fashioned home-cooked dinner," saidBetty earnestly, "I'll feel as if we'd done some good in the world."

  "Well, more than half the boys will be able to get home for it," saidGrace, "and I'm sure we'll find enough good-hearted families toaccount for the rest."

  "Yes, the people around here have certainly helped us more than wedared to hope," said Betty enthusiastically. "We've hardly found oneso far who wasn't willing to open his house--and his heart, too, forthat matter--to the soldier boys. I love them all for being sogenerous. It's done more than anything else to keep up the boys'spirits and send them away happy and healthy and confident."

  "Where are we going first?" queried Mollie, for Betty had made out alist of the houses they were to canvass.

  "The Shroths come first," she answered, consulting her list. "Thenthe Atwaters and the Clarks. After that we'll just go up one streetand down the other till supper time."

  "Sounds simple," said Amy plaintively, "but, oh, our poor feet!"

  "We have walked a good deal, lately," laughed Betty. "But it'snothing to what we _have_ done. Champion hikers like us shouldn'tcomplain about ordinary walking. Here we are at the Shroths. Now lookyour prettiest and smile your sweetest for the sake of the soldierboys!"

  Mrs. Shroth, a sweet-faced, elderly woman, opened the door to themherself and smilingly ushered them into the handsome library.

  "I saw you coming, my dears," she said, settling down comfortably inan enveloping armchair, "and I'm almost sure I know what you havecome to ask me. And you needn't even ask," she added, raising herhand as Betty started to speak, "for the request was granted twoweeks ago. My whole house is at your disposal--to do with as youplease."

  "Oh, you're lovely," Betty cried impulsively, and Mrs. Shroth gentlycovered the eager young hand on the chair arm with her own, smilingdown into the flushed face.

  "The admiration is mutual," she said, and then Betty's heart went outto her entirely. "I've watched you girls for a long time, and thework you've done for the boys has been simply splendid. I've tried tohelp all I could---"

  "You have," broke in Mollie enthusiastically. "And we've been sograteful to you."

  "And I've been grateful to you," Mrs. Shroth added, in her sweetvoice, "for showing me how best I could serve the boys and mycountry. Now, how many do you think I could accommodate forThanksgiving dinner--or rather, how many would you like me toaccommodate?"

  Betty was a little at a loss.

  "Why, I hardly know," she said, hesitating. "We didn't expect you totake in more than two, perhaps three at the outside----"

  "Oh, nonsense," said Mrs. Shroth, brushing the suggestion aside. "Twoor three boys would be lost in this big house, even counting all myrelatives who usually spend Thanksgiving day with me. No, I can takehalf a dozen, at least."

  The girls looked at her a moment, delighted, but incredulous. Thenthey told Mrs. Shroth what they thought of such generosity until shefound herself blushing with pleasure.

  "It's such a little thing," she said, as she stood on the porch tosay good-bye to them, "that I feel almost guilty to take thanks forit. Good luck." The girls went on down the street with singing heartsand a warm sense of friendliness and love for all their fellowbeings.

  They found the same spirit in every house they visited, and when theyat last started for home after walking "miles and miles" they weretoo happy to feel tired.

  "Oh, every one's so kind and dear and anxious to help," cried Mollie,skipping a little in her delight, "that your heart just feels too bigto stay inside. Seems as if it ought to come out in the open whereeverybody can see how hard it's beating."

  "Well, I have heard of people wearing their hearts on their sleeves,"said Betty, twinkling. "But I've never tried it myself."

  "It's wonderful," said Amy softly, "what a comfortable, warm feelingit gives you to find people--some of them you never knew before--whoare really working side by side with you for the same thing, ready tohold out a helping hand when you need it."

  "Yes," agreed Betty, her eyes fixed dreamily on the horizon, "itmakes you feel as if there weren't any strangers in the world, as ifwe were all just friends, working for the common good of everybody."

  "Betty, how pretty," cried Grace, and there was a thrill in her voiceas she repeated softly; "all just friends, working for the commongood of everybody."

  "I'll never forget one thing that happened to me," said Amy, and theylooked at her lovingly. Amy was such a dear--but then everybody wasthat to-night! "It was only a little thing, and yet it made methink."

  "Then it couldn't have been very little," Mollie, the irrepressible,murmured.

  "You know," Amy went on, so deep in her own thoughts, she scarcelynoticed the interruption, "I never did talk much--I always felt as ifpeople were cold and unfriendly--and so kept to myself, except for myreally good friends, of course. Then, one morning, I saw that it wasall my own fault.

  "I just happened to be walking along the street, not noticing anybodyparticularly, when an old woman dropped her nickel car fare and itrolled out into the middle of the street. I ran after it and gave itback to her, and she smiled at me. Somehow, that smile changedeverything for me."

  "How, dear?" asked Betty, putting a sympathetic arm about her.

  "Why," said Amy, blushing in her enthusiasm, "it just made me feel asif everybody was ready to smile if you only gave them half a chance.And I've found out it was true," she finished decidedly. "Because I'vetried it ever so many times since, and it's never once failed!"

  "Yes," concluded Mollie. "I guess everybody's just plain nice andhuma
n, after all!"