“Eighty-six feet, they say. Quite sheer, though.”
“Straight up and down,” explained Tad. “I guess not many folks have ever climbed to the top of it, although you can get up about half way without much trouble.”
Kitty nodded soberly. “Fact. Last year, and then about three weeks ago. Hard work, though.”
“I’d like to see it,” said Rodney. “Will you show it to me some day, Kitty?”
“He will walk you to death,” warned Tad. “I say, fellows――and young ladies――wouldn’t it be fun to take some lunch and go down there some day? Have a sort of picnic, you know. What do you say?”
“We’d love to!” cried Matty. “Wouldn’t we, May?”
“Love to,” echoed May ecstatically. “But I don’t suppose mama would let us do it,” she added doubtfully.
“I wonder if she would,” mused her sister. “Anyway, we could ask her. When would we go, Tad?”
“Why, I don’t know. You fellows have practice in the afternoons, don’t you? We might go some Saturday morning and get back about two. We could hire a rig――――”
“Oh, it would be so much more fun to walk,” said Matty.
“Walk! All the way there and back?” Tad groaned. Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, “All right. I’m game if you are. Will you come along, Kitty?”
“Thanks. Like it very much.” Kitty looked both surprised and gratified at being included.
“Let’s make it next Saturday morning,” suggested Rodney, “and get a good early start so we can get back in time for the game in the afternoon. You ask your mother, Matty, and see if you can go.”
“We have our music Saturday mornings,” said Matty sadly.
“Then I guess we’d better wait until spring,” responded Tad with a somewhat relieved tone in his voice.
“Perhaps, though,” said May thoughtfully, “we could get Miss Mapes to let us have our lesson Friday after school. We could ask her, Matty.”
So, in the end, it was agreed that the twins were to try to arrange things so that they could get away next Saturday morning, and that, if they were successful, the party was to start out for Finger Rock at half-past eight, or as soon after as possible. Then, the twins having volunteered to attend to the luncheon, and the boys having indicated their preferences in the matter of viands, the assemblage broke up, Kitty by this time being thoroughly chilled through, and the boys retired to their own premises by way of the hedge.