Ruth flushed a little.
“I don’t believe Cecile and Luke can go,” she replied slowly. “Cecile has got to go home to take care of her Aunt Lorena, who is sick, and Luke wrote me that he had a position offered to him as a clerk in a summer hotel down on the coast, and it is to pay so well that he would not dream of letting the opportunity pass.”
“Oh, that’s too bad, Ruth. You won’t see much of him.”
“I am not sure I’ll see anything of him.” And Ruth’s face clouded a little.
“Well, anyway, as I said before, we’ll have Neale and Mr. Howbridge,” continued Agnes.
“Neale. But Mr. Howbridge is not sure he can go—at least all the way. However, we’ll ask Mrs. MacCall.”
“I think she’ll be just crazy to go!” declared Agnes. “Come on, let’s go right away and find out.”
“But we must wait for Mr. Howbridge to come back. He told us to.”
“Well, then we’ll say we’re already living on board,” said Agnes. “Oh, won’t it be fun to eat on a houseboat!” and she danced off to the dining room, took her seat at the table, and exclaimed: “I’ll have a steak, rare, with French fried potatoes, plenty of gravy and a cup of tea and don’t forget the pie à la mode.”
Tess and Dot laughed and Ruth smiled. They then went all over the boat again, with the result that they grew more and more enthusiastic about the trip. And when Mr. Howbridge and Neale came back in the automobile a little later, beaming faces met them.