“You must have been,” said Mart Woodock.
“Come out and meet the girls,” said Howard Dustan. “They are waiting to be introduced.”
So Merry was escorted into the presence of the girls and introduced to each one in turn.
“We had begun to believe you were not coming to Belfast at all, Mr. Merriwell,” said a vivacious little blond named Mabel Mitshef, but called “Mabel Mischief” by her friends.
“I came near missing Belfast,” acknowledged Frank; “but, after going to Bar Harbor, I learned something about this place that made it seem very attractive to me, and so I decided to come here. Already I am satisfied that the stories I heard about Belfast are true.”
“My!” cried Mabel. “You make me curious. I wonder what stories you could have heard?”
“Well,” smiled Frank, “I heard that Belfast had the prettiest girls of any place on the Maine coast.”
This threw the girls into confusion, but Mabel had sufficient presence of mind to say:
“If you came here because of those stories, I hope you will not be disappointed, Mr. Merriwell.”
“If the girls I have already seen fairly represent the fair sex of Belfast, I am sure I shall not,” bowed Frank.