Part 11 (1/2)

Billie stood staring after Miss Arbuckle, lost in thought about her, until Laura and Vi, hurrying up, caught her by the arm and hustled her through the front door, down the steps and into the waiting carryall. The carryall, by the way, was to make many trips that day, even though a great many of the girls had automobiles belonging to their relatives or friends which would take them straight to their destination.

When the girls had climbed inside, the boys jumped in after them, and the carryall, having by this time all that it could hold, started down the long, winding driveway to the road.

”Good-bye, Three Towers, for a little time, at least,” cried Billie, while she felt a curious lump in her throat. She was terribly afraid she was going to cry, so she stopped talking and turned to stare out of the window.

”We've had a wonderful time there,” said Laura in, for her, a very sober tone. ”Better than we expected.”

”Which is going _some_,” finished Vi slangily, and as slang from Vi somehow always made them laugh, they laughed now and felt better for it.

”Well, we didn't have such a very slow time ourselves,” said Billie's brother Chet, his good looking face lighting up with eagerness.

”And it's something to have made a friend like Paul Martinson,” spoke up Ferd Stowing from where he was squeezed in between Laura and Vi.

”You bet--he's some boy,” added Teddy heartily, forgetting for the moment that there had been times when he had longed to throw Paul Martinson into the lake--or some deeper place--because he had talked too much to Billie.

But here was a beautiful long train ride before him when he could talk to Billie--or any one else--all he liked without having any Paul Martinson trying to ”b.u.t.t in” all the time. No wonder he was friends with all the world.

”Where is Paul? Why didn't he come with us?” asked Billie.

”He went home with his dad,” Chet explained. ”Of course he was crazy to see his motor boat, and then he had to make arrangements for our cruise.

Oh boy, think of cruising around the coast in a motor boat!”

”We wanted Connie to come along with us,” said Billie. ”But she said she would have to go home first.”

”When are you girls going to start for Lighthouse Island?” Ferd asked with interest. ”Have you set any time yet?”

”Not a regular date,” answered Laura. ”But it will be in a week or two I think. We'll have to have time to get acquainted with the folks again and have our clothes fixed up----”

”And then Connie's coming on to North Bend,” Vi added eagerly. ”And we'll all go together from there to the coast. Oh dear, I can't wait to start.”

”Well, I guess you'll have to,” said Billie, with a sigh, ”since we haven't even reached home yet.”

”That reminds me,” said Laura, turning upon Billie accusingly. ”What were you doing standing in the hall just now and looking as though you had lost your last friend when Vi and I came along and woke you up? Come on, 'fess up.”

Billie could not think for a moment what she had been doing, then she remembered Miss Arbuckle and the rather peculiar way the teacher had thanked her for the return of the alb.u.m.

She told the girls about it, and they listened with interest while the boys looked as if they would like to have known what it was all about.

”Now I wonder----” Laura was beginning when Billie suddenly caught her hand and pointed to the road.

”Look!” she cried. ”It's Hugo Billings, our sad, faced man again. Oh, girls, I wish we could do something for him.”

She leaned far out the window, smiled and waved her hand to the man, who was standing moodily by the roadside. At sight of her he straightened up and an answering smile flashed across his thin face, making him look so different that the girls were amazed.

But when they looked back at him again a few seconds later his smile had gone and he was staring after them gloomily.

”Goodness, I never saw a person look so sad in all my life,” murmured Vi, as a turn in the road hid the man from view.