And Nathalieâs turn added a zest and enjoyment to her first hike that was long remembered, for through Dr. Homerâs kindness in imparting to her many stray bits of knowledge she was able to hide her greenness in wood-lore, bird-lore, and many of the activities in which the other Pioneers were so proficient.
The Pioneers had barely reached the open when the Sport and one of the Orioles were despatched by the Director to blaze a trail. In order to give this advance corps a chance to get ahead, the rest of the company rested on the road, sitting down on the grass, or on some decayed tree trunk, while others practiced wall-scaling, among them Nathalie and the doctor, the latter acting as their instructor.
This scaling feat meant stepping carefully upon the ledge of a stone wall that skirted the road, and then springing down as quickly and lightly as possible, so as not to dislodge stray stones and bring them rattling after one. This forerunner of other feats to come led the doctor to tell how a Scout practiced wall-scaling; sometimes by standing on the shoulders of another Scout, and then climbing a high wooden fence, which was claimed by many to be a more difficult performance than scaling a stone wall. This, of course, proved an incentive for the girls to do their best, especially Nathalie, who as a city-bred girl did not want to prove a laggard.
A few minutes later, as they resumed their tramp, Nathalieâs face grew radiant as she suddenly spied a tree near with a penknife notch on the bark. âOh, girls, here is the trail! Go this way!â she cried excitedly, pointing as she spoke to the notched sign of a twig bent at the end, making it look somewhat like the point of a broken arrow. As she was coming to be a zealous student of the bent-twig signs, the trail-blazing system invented for the Pioneers, she explained a number of these bent-twig signs to the doctor, who was deeply interested and not only told of the many signs used by the Scouts, but showed her the trees that were the easiest to cut.
Chatting, laughing, and singingâfor the girls vied with the birds in their joyousness that summer morningâmaking bird calls, alternating with notch-making and flower-gathering made the time pass swiftly. The new Pioneer was amazed when Dr. Homer pulled out his watch and looking at his pedometer said that they had walked four miles, and that in a short time they would hit the wood trail, where they were to camp for dinner.