“You want me?” Miss Rindy looked shocked.
“Yes, please, ma’am,” said Ellen meekly. “When you learn our plan I am sure you won’t object, and that you’ll fall into it.”
“I have no intention of falling into disgrace at my age,” replied Miss Rindy tartly.
Both girls laughed. “Softly, softly, my good lady,” cried Mabel. “Just you listen to our scheme before you get wrathy.”
“Don’t kick before you’re spurred, as you sometimes say to me,” Ellen joined in. “We’ve shown you the correspondence up to date, all except the note which we left in the cupboard to-day. Can you remember what you wrote, Mabel?”
“I think so. It was something like this. ‘I will meet you on the middle of the bridge on Friday afternoon at four o’clock. I will wear a white dress with a bunch of goldenrod in my belt, so you may know me.’”
“And you mean to do this bold thing?” Miss Rindy was still indignant.
“Yes, we mean to do it, and we expect at least a dozen to do the same thing, you among the number. In so doing we shall see what our young man looks like, while he won’t have the faintest idea which of the dozen is his correspondent.”
Then Miss Rindy threw back her head and laughed. “Clever, clever girls,” she cried. “Of course I’ll join the gang. I wouldn’t miss the fun of seeing that young man’s expression for anything.”
“We must go on the war-path this very afternoon,” decided Mabel, “for we want to see how many we can muster in; the more the merrier.”