ted 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 "butt 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 d