do?
W HEN THE TRIANGLE rang the next morning, three sleepy Saddle Club girls rolled out of bed and into their clothes as quickly as they could. They wanted to do everything possible to be helpful and make Eli and Jeannie’s load easier.
Ten minutes later they filed into the dining room, ready for a new day.
Once breakfast had been served to all the campers, the girls each took a plate of flapjacks and sausages and sat down at the long table with the kids. It was tempting for them to eat by themselves at a smaller table, but they’d never get to know the campers well unless they spent time with them, and they’d never be useful as counselors unless they knew the kids. They did try very hard to avoid sitting with the L-ions,though that was difficult with three of them and only fifteen campers.
Carole wondered where Eli and Jeannie were. Maybe she should be in the kitchen helping out. Then she noticed that the light on the extension phone was lit in the dining room. Eli was obviously talking to someone. Carole didn’t think she could help with that, so she ate her breakfast.
A few minutes later, Eli entered the dining room. There was a happy look on his face—a happier look than Carole and her friends had seen since they’d arrived at High Meadow. Something was up and it just had to be good.
He cleared his throat. “I’ve got some news,” he began. It turned out that he’d been talking with his neighbor on the telephone. The man had a herd of cattle that needed to be moved from one grazing area to another about fifty miles away. There were a lot of cattle and the man was shorthanded. He’d called to see if Eli had anybody around who could do some cowpunching for him.
“So, do I?” Eli asked.
The campers all looked at one another. “You mean us?” one of the kids asked.
“I think so,” Eli said. “The fact is, I was going to borrow some of his cattle to have a sort of make-believe cattle drive, but this is much better. You allcan have some experience with the real thing, and we can do my neighbor a favor at the same time.”
And High Meadow can get paid for helping with the drive
, Stevie thought to herself. Maybe that was the best news of all. Some people thought Stevie didn’t know much about money since she never seemed to have any. She always spent her allowance as fast as she got it. The fact was that because she was always out of it, she was very sensitive to what it was like for other people to be out of it. It wasn’t a nice feeling. And since Eli had lost those four campers at the last minute, he must be terribly worried about money—just the way Stevie would be if her parents suddenly cut her allowance. Maybe they wouldn’t make a lot for doing this, but it would be something, and something was better than nothing.
“Ya-hooooo!”
Stevie called out enthusiastically. One thing about Stevie was that her enthusiasm was always contagious. When she was excited about something, everybody around her always was, too. Now almost all the campers raised their hands when Eli asked who wanted to go along on the cattle drive.
Carole watched this and was as excited as everybody else about the trip. She’d gone on a two-day cattle drive on her first visit to the Bar None, and it had been an unforgettable experience. She’d hoped they’d be doing more of it this summer.
It turned out that three campers—Linc of theL-ions and two others—didn’t want to go on the drive. One of the other two, a boy named Ellis, had a pretty bad cold and needed to stay around the ranch. The other one, Jack, just didn’t like the idea of sleeping under the stars for all those nights.
Jeannie would stay at the ranch with the kids. There was a lot of work to be done no matter how many people were there, so somebody had to stay. The garden had to be weeded, the animals tended, and generally the place had to be kept up. These thoughts flashed through Carole’s mind. What also flashed through at the same time was
W HEN THE TRIANGLE rang the next morning, three sleepy Saddle Club girls rolled out of bed and into their clothes as quickly as they could. They wanted to do everything possible to be helpful and make Eli and Jeannie’s load easier.
Ten minutes later they filed into the dining room, ready for a new day.
Once breakfast had been served to all the campers, the girls each took a plate of flapjacks and sausages and sat down at the long table with the kids. It was tempting for them to eat by themselves at a smaller table, but they’d never get to know the campers well unless they spent time with them, and they’d never be useful as counselors unless they knew the kids. They did try very hard to avoid sitting with the L-ions,though that was difficult with three of them and only fifteen campers.
Carole wondered where Eli and Jeannie were. Maybe she should be in the kitchen helping out. Then she noticed that the light on the extension phone was lit in the dining room. Eli was obviously talking to someone. Carole didn’t think she could help with that, so she ate her breakfast.
A few minutes later, Eli entered the dining room. There was a happy look on his face—a happier look than Carole and her friends had seen since they’d arrived at High Meadow. Something was up and it just had to be good.
He cleared his throat. “I’ve got some news,” he began. It turned out that he’d been talking with his neighbor on the telephone. The man had a herd of cattle that needed to be moved from one grazing area to another about fifty miles away. There were a lot of cattle and the man was shorthanded. He’d called to see if Eli had anybody around who could do some cowpunching for him.
“So, do I?” Eli asked.
The campers all looked at one another. “You mean us?” one of the kids asked.
“I think so,” Eli said. “The fact is, I was going to borrow some of his cattle to have a sort of make-believe cattle drive, but this is much better. You allcan have some experience with the real thing, and we can do my neighbor a favor at the same time.”
And High Meadow can get paid for helping with the drive
, Stevie thought to herself. Maybe that was the best news of all. Some people thought Stevie didn’t know much about money since she never seemed to have any. She always spent her allowance as fast as she got it. The fact was that because she was always out of it, she was very sensitive to what it was like for other people to be out of it. It wasn’t a nice feeling. And since Eli had lost those four campers at the last minute, he must be terribly worried about money—just the way Stevie would be if her parents suddenly cut her allowance. Maybe they wouldn’t make a lot for doing this, but it would be something, and something was better than nothing.
“Ya-hooooo!”
Stevie called out enthusiastically. One thing about Stevie was that her enthusiasm was always contagious. When she was excited about something, everybody around her always was, too. Now almost all the campers raised their hands when Eli asked who wanted to go along on the cattle drive.
Carole watched this and was as excited as everybody else about the trip. She’d gone on a two-day cattle drive on her first visit to the Bar None, and it had been an unforgettable experience. She’d hoped they’d be doing more of it this summer.
It turned out that three campers—Linc of theL-ions and two others—didn’t want to go on the drive. One of the other two, a boy named Ellis, had a pretty bad cold and needed to stay around the ranch. The other one, Jack, just didn’t like the idea of sleeping under the stars for all those nights.
Jeannie would stay at the ranch with the kids. There was a lot of work to be done no matter how many people were there, so somebody had to stay. The garden had to be weeded, the animals tended, and generally the place had to be kept up. These thoughts flashed through Carole’s mind. What also flashed through at the same time was
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