They were gathered in the playroom. Mary, very tall and beautiful, was standing with her back to the fireplace.
"Mr. Gilpin," she said, "I have been coming to The Camp off and on for twenty-eight years. I will never consent to its being sold."
"Nor I," said Maud. "Though I've only been coming for twenty-six."
"In twenty-four years," said Eve, "I have formed an attachment to the place which nothing can break."
"Arthur," appealed Mr. Gilpin, "perhaps you have some sense."
"I?" said Arthur. "Why? Twenty-two years ago I was born here."
"Good old Arthur!" exclaimed the triplets. "We were born here, too—just nineteen years ago."
"But," objected Mr. Gilpin, "you can't run the place—you can't live here. Confound it, you young geese, you can't even pay the taxes."
Lee whispered to Gay.