ve
to take this trip by ourselves. It seems a pity for three people to go
sailing around in a big vessel like that with most of the state-rooms
empty; but, of course, people are not prepared yet for country weeks at
sea! And it will take some time to make my plans known in the proper
quarters."

"I don't suppose," said Willy, "that there's anybody in Plainton that we
could send for on short notice. People there want so much time to get
ready to do anything!"

"But there is nobody in the town that I would care to take on a first
voyage," said Mrs. Cliff. "You know, something might go wrong and we
would have to come back, and if it is found necessary to do that, I
don't want any Plainton people on board!"

"No indeed!" exclaimed Willy, her mind involuntarily running towards
Nancy Shott, to whom a voyage to the West Indies would doubtless be of
great service. "Don't let's bother about anything of that kind! Let's
make the first trip by ourselves! I think that will be glorious!"

CHAPTER XX

THE SYNOD

As most of Mrs. Cliff's business in New York was now finished, and as
she and Willy were waiting there only for the yacht to be made ready for
sea, she had a good deal of time on her hands.

On the Saturday following her decision to make a trial trip on the
_Summer Shelter_, when returning from the daily visit to the yacht, Mrs.
Cliff stopped in at a Brooklyn church in which a Synod was at that time
convened. She had read of the proceedings of this body in the papers,
and, as the deliberations concerned her own denomination, she thought
she would be interested in them. Willy, however, preferred to go on by
herself to New York, as she had something to do there which she thought
would be more to her taste than the proceedings of a Synod.

It was not long after she had been seated in the church that Mrs. Cliff
began to regret that she had not attended some of the earlier meetings,
for the questions debated were those in which she took an interest.

After a time she saw near her Mrs. Arkwright, a lady who had visited
Mrs. Perley some years before, and with whom she had then become
acquainted. Joining her, Mrs. Cliff found Mrs. Arkwright able to give
her a great deal of information in regard to the members of the Synod,
and as the two sat and talked together in whispers, a desire arose in
the mind of Mrs. Cliff that she and her wealth might in some way join
in the work in which all these people were engaged. As