“I should say we have,” answered the guardian, her face taking on a thoughtful expression, little lines of perplexity forming on her forehead. “Indeed we have, and to spare.”
George directed Jane into the main business street of the town.
“Do you wish to get your supplies first?” asked the captain.
“No!” cried the girls with one accord, “we want the surprise.”
“You shall have it. Pull up before that red brick building you see on the left there, Miss Jane. We will get out there.”
They got down hurriedly. They could not imagine what this new surprise might be. George led them to the sidewalk, passers-by glancing inquiringly at the brown-faced girls as well as at their distinctive blue uniforms, which a few persons recognized as belonging to the Meadow-Brook Girls’ organization. The captain stepped across the walk to the window of a jewelry store, where he halted and pointed.
“There is the surprise,” he said, his eyes sparkling, his face flushed.
At first the girls’ eyes wandered over the glittering array of costly articles displayed in the window, their glances finally coming to rest on a centerpiece that stood out and above all the rest. That something was a massive silver cup, standing fully eighteen inches high. The cup stood by itself, on a black velvet mat. There was a massive silver handle on either side. Then they saw that it was a trophy. A tennis net worked out in silver decorated the lower part of the cup; above the net were two crossed racquets and a ball, all in solid silver.
Still further up on the swell, cut deeply into the polished surface were the words, “Atlantic Coast Tennis Association Trophy for Girls Under Eighteen. Doubles. Won by ——”
