On Monday, Matty had announced that Mrs. Binner had consented to the proposed expedition to Finger Rock, and that Miss Mapes, the piano teacher, had obligingly transferred the Saturday morning lesson to Friday afternoon. Consultations between the twins and Tad had followed at intervals during the week, and at a little before nine on Saturday morning the five set off on the picnic. The luncheon had been thoughtfully divided into separate packages and each of the party carried one. Kitty, for once minus his beloved turtle-neck sweater, led the way at a business-like pace which soon drew groans of protest from Tad.
“Look here, Kitty,” he said when they had traversed perhaps a mile of the way, “this isn’t any cross country race, you know. We aren’t trying to establish a new record. I love to walk, but I don’t want to overdo it. I’ve been warned by the doctors not to overtax my strength. Let’s pause here a minute and admire the beautiful view. Let’s pause several minutes. I’m in no hurry. In fact I love to pause!”
Rodney and the twins seemed as willing as Tad to seat themselves on a rock beside the road. Kitty blinked in mild surprise. “I wasn’t walking fast, was I?” he asked solicitously.
“An amble! Jumping Jehosophat! I’d like to see you when you were in a hurry then!”
“You can see the Rock now,” said May to Rodney, and his four companions obligingly pointed it out to him. As, however, he attempted to follow each finger and attend to all directions at once, it was several minutes before he actually discerned the object of their journey. When he did it looked rather disappointing. From a distance of three and a half miles Finger Rock was merely a point against the sky, its base hidden by a belt of woods that intervened. Presently they went on again, more leisurely now, Kitty looking around every little while to make certain that the pace was not exhausting his companions. He held forth for a quarter of a mile on the benefits of walking, and instructed the others how to hold their bodies, how to move their legs, and which part of the foot to walk on in order to derive the greatest good from the exercise. Tad listened with suspiciously profound attention, but the others soon wearied. When Kitty had concluded, Tad undertook to walk according to instructions received and the result was so mirth provoking that Matty had to sit down on a stump beside the road and recover. Kitty, however, only smiled tolerantly. He was quite accustomed to having his hobby made sport of. It didn’t hurt him any if others played the fool.