ful with red eyes and wild hair and a
dress that looks as if it were new in the seventeenth century?" cried
Lucile, brought to bay.

"We'd have told you if you'd asked us," said Jesse, fondly.

Lucile threw an arm about each of the girls and drew them before the
mirror--two fair heads with a dark one in between.

"You're great comforts, both of you. But, girls, I did think I was such
a--mess!" she chuckled, happily.

CHAPTER XXIV

"TWO'S COMPANY"

Lucile was happy even before she awoke that morning. The sense of
something delightful in store pervaded even her dreams. For a long time
she lingered in that delightful interim between waking and sleeping, when
the spirit seems to detach itself and fly on wings of golden sunshine
through a dewy, scented universe. In her confused imagining she was
resting on a rose-colored cloud, while all around her other clouds of
varying tints swam and swirled, taking different shapes as they passed
her by.

"How pretty!" she murmured, and woke with a start to find Jessie
regarding her sleepily.

"What on earth were you muttering about, Lucy?" cried the latter,
fretfully. "I guess you must have been having a bad dream."

"No, it wasn't; it was beautiful," she contradicted, putting her hands
behind her head and gazing up at the ceiling. "I wish you hadn't waked me
up; I was having an awfully good time."

"Well, I wasn't," said Jessie, so sourly that Lucile chuckled.

"You know, Jessie," she said, "the only time you are ever cross is when
you are sleepy--and that's most all the time," she added, wickedly.

"What?" said the accused, sitting up in bed and seizing Lucile by the
arm. "Unsay those words or I will have your life!"

"Now, you know you don't need it half as much as I do," reasoned Lucile.
"You have one of your own." Whereupon Jessie laughed, and peace was
almost restored when there came a knock at the door.

The girls started and looked at each other in questioning bewilderment.

"Now what have you been doing?" whispered Lucile. "I knew one of these
days you would have the law upon us."

"Up to your old tricks again, I suppose," Jessie countered. "But you'd
better answer them, Lucy."

"Why don't you?" said Lucile; but, receiving no answer, called out in a
small voice, as the rap was repeated, "Who is it?"

"Aren't you girls ever going to get up?" whispered a gruff voice, which
they, nevertheless, recognized as belonging to Phil. "It's almost eight
o'clo