Doris laughed gaily. “Don’t worry about me, Mr. Hadley,” she said. “I’m having a wonderful time.”
But with her naturally sympathetic disposition, she was quick to realize that John was not so happy, and she tactfully turned the conversation in the direction in which he was interested—namely, to Marjorie. She explained as well as she could about Marjorie’s failure; but as she never had been able to understand it herself, she was not very successful in convincing John of the cause.
About eight o’clock, Mr. Remington called for “stunts,” and started by telling a funny story himself; Miss Phillips followed with a negro song in dialect; Ruth and Ethel gave a dialogue; and several of the boys performed gymnastic feats.
At nine o’clock, Miss Phillips reluctantly rose to go. She thanked the boys and invited them to the play. “And some day,” she added, “we want to entertain you.”
“Our boys wish to offer the Girl Scouts of Pansy troop the use of our cabin and its equipment for a week this summer,” said Mr. Remington, after he had acknowledged Miss Phillips’s invitations.
The girls all clapped; it seemed too wonderful to be true.
“The nicest time I ever had in my life!” said Lily, as they were riding home on the trolley. But she added the phrase which Ruth had come to hate: “If only Marjorie could have come along!”
CHAPTER XX
MARJORIE’S SUSPICIONS
When the scouts reached the school, they found a number of the other girls back from their holidays. But the halls seemed strangely quiet and deserted; and when Lily reached her room, she was overcome by a feeling of loneliness.