uests
for dinner. She gave her friends a smile, a wave of the hand and a
funny pantomime which they understood. They were to be at the Manor
the next morning, early.

And early it was. Bet had been up for hours but Colonel Baxter had not
finished his breakfast when the girls came in like shafts of sunlight
through shutters.

Shirley was loaded down with two cameras and a tripod, her face glowing
with the pleasure she felt in being able to do a favor for Bet's father.

Shirley was the only one of the group whose parents were not well off
financially. She was the oldest of four children and lived in a small
house on the main street of the village. She had done all sorts of odd
jobs in order to earn her longed-for cameras, and had studied them well.

Sometimes when the girls talked of the future when they would go to
college, Shirley's face became clouded, for her father's poor health
made it impossible for him to be steadily employed. Shirley's chances
of college seemed very slim. The Colonel often called upon Shirley to
take pictures of Bet on the grounds of the estate, as an excuse to give
the girl a chance to earn a few dollars.

"Do hurry, Dad, and finish your breakfast! We're anxious to be off.
Couldn't the pictures wait?"

"No, Bet, I want to take them now," replied Shirley. "You can go along
if you want to and I'll come later."

"We'll wait," answered Bet cheerfully.

The Colonel rose and saluted, "I am at your service!"

Shirley arranged the lighting like an expert and took several poses of
the little fan against a background of black velvet, placing it in
different degrees of light. The other girls were not particularly
interested. Shirley's hobby was all right, when she took pictures of
them, but just now they were impatient to be off.

Then Shirley had to waste more time showing the Colonel about the
latest self-photography attachment that she had recently bought.

"I got tired always being left out of the group. And the other girls
can't take pictures to suit me."

"Is this the same idea that is used in photographing wild animals?"
asked Colonel Baxter.

"It's the same principle, but a little wire or spring is touched by the
animal and this releases the shutter and for night pictures sets off a
flash powder as well. I'm going to get one of those attachments by
winter time, as the camera company has offered a prize for wild animal
pictures."

"Aw, come on, Shirley," called Joy. "