“The scamp!” exclaimed Kirk, with more animation than usual. “She evidently ran away from me.”
“You can’t blame her!” muttered Alice, to herself.
“No, I think there was something special Clayton wanted to show her about handling a canoe,” said Lily, loyally coming to her chum’s rescue. “I heard her talking to him last night.”
Irene shot Lily a grateful look, for which the latter could see no reason. All the while she was edging up towards Kirk, in order to give him the opportunity to ask her to go with him. The others were getting into their boats; it would be too embarrassing if he did not ask her soon.
“Well, Irene,” he said, to her immense relief, “we’re both deserted, so we may as well patch it up together. What do you say?”
“Oh, thank you for coming to my rescue, Kirk,” she replied, gratefully. “It’s so much worse for a girl to be left in the lurch than for a man. But I’m afraid old ladies like me can’t expect to hold young men like Clayton Jones.”
“But you’re no older than Marjorie!” protested Kirk.
“No, that’s true,” she admitted.
She stepped happily into the canoe, well pleased at the success of the plan, and at the good-humored attitude of her companion. She resolved to keep up his good spirits as long as possible. He seemed in a talkative mood.
“Tell me what you think of this Marjorie Wilkinson,” he began.