“Jack! Whatever are you doing in Philadelphia?” she gasped.
“I have a job here—so I’ll be near you all summer!” he answered.
“But what is the idea?”
“John Hadley and I had a little scheme to work out—you’ll hear all about it later.”
In another moment John and his mother stepped up on the porch, and Marjorie realized that the gathering, which was no matter of coincidence, but a carefully planned party, was complete. She directed the company into the sitting-room and started the victrola.
“This is to be your formal house-warming!” announced John, when the young people were all together. “A real party—with eats, and dancing, and all. But before the fun begins, Jack and I want to tell you about a little plan we have up our sleeve.”
“Go on!” urged Marjorie, eagerly. “I’m prepared for surprises this evening.”
“Well, it’s simply this,” explained John. “We fellows knew your capital is pretty limited, and we knew too how high labor is. So we figured if you girls could come down here two weeks earlier and do most of the preparation yourselves, you might use some of our help.
“So we fellows—and by the way, Roger is in on this—are banded together to do whatever you want the next two weeks. Our time, whenever we can get away from our jobs, is at your disposal; also my luxurious car—my—er—a—Ford!”
“Oh, it’s too wonderful!” cried Marjorie. “Everybody seems to help us—first Mr. Scott, then Mr. Andrews, Marie Louise and her family—and now you people! How can we ever thank you?”