GREAT PLANS
After permission for the outing was gained from all the parents concerned
everything was bustle and excitement. For a week the girls spent the
whole of every day at each other's houses, planning their vacation,
talking about the clothes they would need to take with them, and
generally enjoying themselves.
As the time drew near they could hardly contain their excitement, and the
boys, who had decided they would follow the girls some days later, were
almost as bad.
"I don't see why you don't come with us," Billie pouted one night, when
the entire crowd of young folks had assembled at her home. "It would be
lots more fun on the train if you boys were with us."
"But there is the tennis match we promised to play with the fellows of
the south end," Chet pointed out for perhaps the hundredth time. "We
couldn't back out of it at the last minute, you know; they'd think we
were afraid."
"Now how do you know," Violet pointed out, "but what we will all have
been eaten up by the ghosts by the time you get there?"
"Ghosts!" scoffed Ferdinand Stowing, who was to go with Chet and Teddy.
"I don't see where you girls get this ghost stuff. Just because a house
happens to be old doesn't say it's haunted."
"Gosh! listen to him," cried Chet indignantly. "Some one is always taking
the joy out of life."
"Say, you don't think it's haunted, do you?" asked Ferd, in surprise.
"Of course not," answered Chet, adding, with a chuckle: "But I have
my hopes."
"Well, so have I," spoke up Laura promptly. "If there isn't a family
ghost or two about the place, we just won't have any fun. What's the use
of going off into the wilderness to a spooky house if we're not going to
meet a ghost?"
"Well, you know I didn't promise any ghosts," said Billie, looking up
from a piece of fancy work she was embroidering. "If you are
disappointed, you needn't blame it on me, Laura, or you either, Chet."
"Well, I don't see why we shouldn't have a good time without ghosts," put
in Violet. "In fact, I don't think I'd particularly enjoy meeting
somebody's great-great-ancestor in the dark."
"Oh, Vi, you give me the creeps," said Laura with a little shiver.
"Billie, do you think half a dozen middies' would do? We won't want to
dress up very much."
"No, the ghosts probably wouldn't know the difference," said Teddy
wickedly. "By the way, boys," he went on, imitating Laura's tone to
perfection, "that's one important thing we haven't decided, yet. What are
we going to wear?"
"You poor fish!" cried Ferd, throwing a cushion at him. "Who let you in?"
"Stop wrecking the furniture," exclaimed Billie, from her corner. "And do
stop talking all at once. You make my ears ache. And besides, I want to
say something."
"Silence," cried Chet, in a dramatically deep voice. "The queen is about
to speak."
"He said something that time," whispered Teddy in her ear, and a little
pink flush mounted to Billie's face, making her look prettier than ever.
It was so nice to have one's friends like you!
"Why, I was just thinking about the cooking," she said. "Do any of you
boys know how to cook?"
"Heavens, listen at her!" cried Ferd in alarm. "Is she going to set us to
work already--before we get there? What's the idea, Billie?"
"Well," replied Billie, biting off her thread calmly, "we have to eat
while we're there, you know."
"No!" cried Chet sarcastically. "You may, sweet sister, but not us. We
are too ethereal."
"Say, is he insulting us?" cried Ferd indignantly. "Say that again, I
dare you--"
"Oh, for goodness' sake keep still!" cried Laura, clapping her hands to
her ears. "You make me deaf, dumb and blind. Now, Billie, what were you
going to say?"
"Simply, that since we do have to eat, Chet or anybody else to the
contrary," she looked at her brother and dimpled adorably, "we will have
to decide who is going to do the cooking."
"Why, I suppose we'll take our turns at it, as we've done before when we
have been camping," said Laura, in surprise.
"I know. But what I want to find out is, are the boys going to do any of
the work?"
"Good land, is she asking us to cook?" asked Ferd. "Why, Billie, we don't
know a thing about it!"
"And don't want to learn," added Chet fervently.
"Oh, you big fibbers!" Billie's eyes danced as she looked at them.
"I remember--oh, I have a very good memory," and she glanced
sideways at Teddy, who was beginning to look uncomfortable. "I
remember a certain person telling me how beautifully you boys cooked
while you were at camp."
"Say, Billie, that's not fair," cried Teddy, with a guilty note in his
voice that made his two comrades look at him accusingly.
"Aha, we see the villain!" cried Ferd threateningly. "What'll we do with
him, Chet?"
"Nothing's bad enough for such a crime," said Chet ruefully. "What did
you make such a break for, Ted? I thought I'd brought you up better."
"Gee, Billie, do you see what you've let me in for?" said Ted miserably,
but Billie only regarded him with laughing eyes while Laura and Violet
seemed to be enjoying the situation immensely.
"I don't see what I did," Billie replied innocently. "I thought I was
paying you boys a compliment by saying that you could cook well."
"But we can't," cried Ferd, seizing the opportunity eagerly. "Gee,
Billie, you couldn't eat the awful messes we make. Why, you're a
good cook--"
Billie raised a cushion threateningly in the air.
"None of that! None of that!" she warned him. "We see through you,
villain!"
"Say, she must think you're one of the Cherry Corners ghosts," broke in
Teddy whimsically. "It's pretty hard on a fellow when you can see through
him, Billie."
"But honest you couldn't," Ferd insisted, not to be defeated in this one
last hope. "Really, I don't know enough about an egg to take the shell
off when I fry it."
"Idiot," cried Billie, throwing the pillow at him in earnest. "Who ever
heard of fried egg in the shell?"
"I did," cried Ferd, unabashed by the laughter and the scornful glances
turned his way. "Ladies and gentlemen, you see before you to-night the
man that invented it."
"Well, but nobody has answered my question," said Billie demurely,
after the laughter had subsided. "Are the boys going to help cook or
are they not?"
"I tell you what," said Chet desperately. "We'll cook if you will promise
to eat it."
"Billie," cried Laura in alarm, "don't make any rash promises. They would
probably put some awful thing into the food on purpose."
"Laura, that's some idea," cried Ferd, looking at her admiringly while
Teddy and Chet chuckled. "Thanks. We never would have thought of that
ourselves."
"Well," said Billie with a little chuckle, "I imagine we would rather eat
our own cooking anyway, so you needn't worry. Only," she added warningly,
as they sighed with relief, "there is one thing you _will_ have to do."
"And what's that?" they cried fearfully.
"Help wash the dishes," she said; and in her tone was no relenting.
And so, even to the impatient girls the time passed quickly until at last
the great day arrived.
It was a wonderful day, sunshiny and warm without being too hot, and all
three of them were up with the birds. They were to catch the eight
o'clock morning train, and so they had no time to waste in bed.
Billie was in a joyful mood as she got herself into the pretty new dress
she was to wear on the trip. She ran around the room, humming to herself
and every once in a while doing a little dance step as she realized that
they were at last to embark upon their adventure.
And an adventure she somehow felt sure it was to be. For even though,
contrary to Chet's hopes, and she smiled as she thought of him, they did
not meet with ghosts at Cherry Corners, there would be the fun of seeing
for the first time her inheritance.
It might be a queer old house and the contents and the grounds about it
might be of small value, but there was a wonderful thrill nevertheless in
being the owner of it.
And there was the fact that it dated back to revolutionary times, it was
really historic and--it all belonged to her!
No wonder she sang as she gave a last fond pat to the pretty dress and
tucked a wandering little strand of hair into place. Her eyes danced and
her face was flushed, but Billie never noticed how pretty she was.
She was the first in the dining-room that morning, but her mother soon
came in, scattering advice as she came and all through the meal Billie
tried hard to listen dutifully to all the "must nots" and "don't dos."
But all the time her eyes were on the clock and her mind was saying over
and over again:
"In just half an hour we'll be on the train. In just half an hour we'll
be on the train."
Then Chet came in and her father, and, finding that it was almost train
time, postponed their breakfast to see her off. A few minutes later they
started off to pick up the girls on the way to the station.
They found them waiting impatiently, and wildly eager to be off. About a
block from the station they heard the whistle of the train, and the girls
would run for it, though they really had plenty of time.
At last they were in the train with the boys and their parents waving to
them. Then suddenly they realized that they were moving. They were
actually on their way!
"Give my regards to the ghosts!" cried Chet as the train moved off, "and
don't scare them all off before I get there!"