“How do I look?” cried the masquerader, pirouetting in the middle of the room. “Hadn’t you better come powder my nose, Sis?”
“You’re splendid! You had me guessing for a moment. Your wig is great! Who fixed you up?”
“Lily. She’s a dandy lady’s maid.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what, Lily wouldn’t,” said his sister. “You must pull your tie tighter, and hide your neck. Girls don’t have necks like that. And Jack, couldn’t you swallow your Adam’s-apple?”
“Oh, I know I’m a scare-crow,” laughed Jack, good-naturedly. “But if the fellow we’re after gets close enough to see all those things, I’ll let him know in another way that I’m not a girl!”
“You’ll do, Jack,” commented Mrs. Hadley, who had driven over with the boys. “If you just stop trying to put your hands into your pockets!”
“I hope you’ve re-read Tom Sawyer lately,” remarked Alice, “and don’t make any of those blunders he did when he was trying to pass off for a girl.”
The young people all laughed as they recalled the situation; notwithstanding the mystery and possible danger of the occasion, the whole thing struck them as decidedly funny.
Mrs. Munsen, however, looked exceedingly grave as she kissed Marjorie goodbye.
“I shall be thankful when I see you safely home in the morning,” she said. “Do come as early as possible.”