Finally Barbara squirmed free and Mrs. Brewster managed to say: "Sary, Bob has on one of her most modern evening gowns. They are made without tops, you know!" Sary gasped and suddenly collapsed upon the chair. Her strained expression, as she took a covert look at the dress, spoke volumes. "Glory be, Miss Brewster," whispered Sary, hoarsely. "You-all don' mean it fer trut', do yuh?" "Yes, Sary, it is a very expensive and stylish robe." "An' kin you-all let her march brazen-like, like that, in front of the men!" shrilled Sary, holding both wide hands over her heart. "I never heard or dreamed there was such ignorance in the world, as I have found in Colorado!" now flared Barbara, turning and leaving the cloak-room. Sary waited but a second, then she cried, "Ah cain't 'low Jeb t' see sech sights--an' he a good bachelor-man!" Sary rushed out to spare her prey any shocks, and the other members of the party gazed at each other doubtfully. "Oh, well, it's not our funeral, Potty!" said Eleanor. "Shall we join the dancers?" asked Anne. "Yes, but I fear Bob will be ostracized," said Mrs. Brewster. "Serve her right! Anne and I told her not to dress like that, but she _would_, you know. She wanted to show folks the style," explained Eleanor, taking silent Polly by the arm and leading her out to the main hall. As they left the cloak-room, the girls heard the fiddler shout: "Git yer pardners fer the Grand March!" And from that time on to midnight, the three girls had the best fun ever. But poor Barbara stood near the cloak-room as isolated as the plague, for the ranchers dared not even look at a gown without a top, let alone dance with the doubtful thing. CHAPTER XI IN THE WILDERNESS Each day the four girls rode along various trails until, in the judgment of Jeb, they were practiced enough to take a longer ride in the mountains. Polly had been urging Jeb to give a favorable opinion on their ability to stand a prolonged ride to the Flat Tops, but he was careful and practical and persisted in making them try a greater distance daily to finally harden them to a rough trail. Then Jeb said he reckoned the girls could start for a real outing. Immediately, they planned where to go and what to see. Polly outlined a trip that might take a whole day, so they would have to take food and kit for cooking purposes. Each girl would ride her favorite horse or burro and the extra burro, Choko, could carry the outfit. Of course, Polly decided to ride Noddy, as the burro was well acquainted with her mistress's ways and the mountains. Eleanor preferred a burro also, because, as she said comically, "if one falls from a burro's back it is not far to Mother Earth." The two other girls selected horses, sure-footed and trained for climbing.