“You mean that you don’t believe that I have an Aunt Emeline?” interrupted Alice.
“No, not that. With due respect to your aunt, you must admit it’s a mighty unusual proposal for her to make to a bunch of girls she never saw, no matter if she is as rich as all get out. The proposition’s wild enough, but the idea of her giving each girl a runabout as a reward if she wins through—that’s what gets me.”
“Anyone rich enough and crazy enough to pay our expenses would be crazy enough to do anything,” said Alice.
“And she probably doesn’t expect us to win,” put in Florence.
“Well, I’d wait till I saw a check for those expenses, if I were you; then, if it turned out to be a joke, you wouldn’t be so much out of pocket. That’s what I mean!”
“Silly! As if we haven’t thought of those things!” exclaimed his sister. “I’ve been pinching myself every day, expecting to wake up from a dream—until Alice wrote a letter saying we could go, and then received that check by return mail. Think up some other excuse to keep us home, Jackie; that one won’t work.”
“You needn’t worry about the money, Jack,” explained Alice. “It’s safely deposited in bank to my account!”
“Well, anyway,” Jack replied, “I object to this party’s being turned into a business meeting. Let’s forget it—and dance!”
“Jack is right,” agreed Doris. Then, turning to her husband, “Put on a record, Roger, and let’s begin.”
The remainder of the evening passed entirely to the boys’ satisfaction.