“No; going in the launch?”
“Yes. O, you weren’t at the meeting, were you? We are going to the Island, going to cook fish or weenies or something,—we ought to make out the menu tonight. Diane said it would be more fun to have the whole crowd together to talk it over. We are just going a little way up the beach tonight, going to have fudge and toast marshmallow, wear our bathing suits and big cloaks, have our committee meeting first, swim next, and then have the candy.”
“I wish that old study bell did not ring so early!”
“By the way,” Cathalina pointed to the table, “help yourself. Wasn’t it nice of Phil to send candy just to his sister? He said he was sending the box to his next best girl. He calls Mother his ‘best girl.’”
“Aren’t they spuzzy! Thank you. It will spoil our ‘appertites’ for plain fudge, though. Why, doesn’t Philip pay any attention to girls? He has such graceful manners with them that you’d think he’d had experience.”
“That is good, Hilary; I’ll have to tell Phil that.”
“Mercy, no! I know how boys are,—and he’d never speak to me again, perhaps.”
“Yes, he would, but I won’t repeat it. Yes, Phil is not nearly as old as he seems, but he has had several half-way sweethearts, from Ann Maria to a nice girl that was visiting one of our friends not so very long ago. But Phil is too interested in boy affairs to be at all silly about girls. Boys have such good times, you know. He wrote all of one page!” Cathalina held out the manly scrawl for inspection. “Campbell wants to be remembered to you, Phil says, and he also sends his regards. Campbell says you are the ‘foxiest girl he knows.’”
“I’m much obliged to Campbell. I suppose, at least, that he intends that as a compliment. He was real nice to me, and is such a ‘good looker,’ as Gordon says.”
“Campbell is one of my nicest cousins.”