or. "I wonder who is coming to visit us so early?"

"Probably one of the boys," Betty suggested, "come to tell us it is nine
o'clock and high time we were up and dressed."

"Nine o'clock!" Grace fairly stuttered, but just then Mollie called out
an impatient:

"Who's there?" in response to a second and harder knock at the door.

"It's I, Will. Mrs. Irving sent me up to ask when in the name of common
sense you girls are coming down to breakfast."

"What time is it?" Betty countered. "If you tell us that, we'll tell you
what time we are coming down."

"It is half-past eight," Will answered. "We fellows have been up since
six o'clock getting our summer quarters fixed up!"

"I won't believe it until I see it," said Mollie darkly. "Six o'clock,
indeed!" and she sniffed disdainfully.

"Well, if you don't believe it," said Will, through the keyhole, "all
you have to do is to come down and see for yourself. We've got
everything fixed up O. K. all right. But say! when are you fellows--I
mean girls--going to get up?"

"Right away, Will," Betty promised, popping out of bed and into her
slippers all at once. "We will be down in a jiffy."

It required a great deal of tact to coax Amy and Grace out of bed, but
it took a still greater amount of merciless driving to get them
downstairs and into the big airy dining room, where Mrs. Irving was
impatiently awaiting them.

"Here you are," she said, laying down her book as the four girls tumbled
into the room. "I thought you would be tired after last night's fun, so
I let you sleep it out."

"Well, we surely did sleep," said the Little Captain brightly. "I for
one feel as if I'll never sleep again."

"And I feel as if I could sleep forever," said Grace. "You never saw
anything like Betty, Mrs. Irving," she complained. "Why, I do believe
she could have made a fortune in the old days as an overseer down
South."

Mrs. Irving laughed. "You don't look especially brow-beaten," she said.
"And anyway, I should think you would be glad to get up--you must be
nearly starved to death."

"I thought after last night, and the chicken, I could never eat again,"
said Mollie, her eyes sparkling at the memory. "But I find that I can,
very easily. Oh, Mrs. Irving, what is there?"

"Well," their chaperon began, "there are the eggs we had put up with the
other things yesterday and some fruit and honey and we can make some
fluffy white biscuits in no time----"

"Oh, oh, say no more!" said Bet