Alice suddenly let out a shriek.
“It’s all my fault, Lil—I forgot to lock it, in my haste to get in! Oh, I’m so sorry—”
“Will you want our uniforms just the same?” interrupted the patrol leader, realizing that time would now be too precious to waste.
“Yes,” replied Marjorie with determination. “This doesn’t alter our desire to win. We’ll go at it even harder—”
The patrol leader did not wait to hear the end of the sentence, but hurried her girls back for their dresses, while the tourists rushed out to make sure that the other car was safe.
“We can still finish our trip in the one big car,” said Mrs. Remington, “provided that we put out all our camping outfit, and stay at hotels every night till we reach the coast.”
“Then let’s give our camping things to this nice little troop,” suggested Lily, who had decided to accept her loss philosophically.
“And start tomorrow instead of waiting over another day,” added Marjorie.
Half an hour later the girls dressed again in the scout uniforms, the fit of which was better than they had anticipated, all got into the big car and waved goodbye to their new friends, reminding them to come to the grounds early in the morning for the outfit. They drove back to their tents, somewhat subdued in spirits; the victory in gaining the suits was balanced by the defeat in losing the car. But, as Ethel reminded them, there was one compensation: for the rest of the trip they could all travel together!