“Didn’t take him long!” shouted Billie, from her comfortable place in Teddy’s boat.
“Ain’t boys wonderful!” Laura shouted back.
Having arrived at the island, which was well out in the lake and removed by a considerable expanse of water from both Boxton Academy and Three Towers Hall, the boys and girls disembarked and began the real business of the day.
“Take care of those lunch baskets,” shrieked Billie, as the boat in which they were rocked perilously. “Ferd Stowing, you nearly dumped them in the lake!”
“Well, I can’t take care of both the lunch and Edina,” asserted Ferd, grinning. “Lend me a hand, someone!”
At the thoughtless words of the lad who would not willingly hurt a fly, Billie saw Edina color painfully.
“All this fun at Edina’s expense has gone far enough,” she thought indignantly. “It’s got to stop! I could slap Ferd Stowing!”
“Why the frown, l’il Billie?”
Billie looked up to find Paul Martinson at her elbow, smiling quizzically down at her.
“You look mad enough to bite a nail in six pieces,” continued the lad. “Just what appears to be wrong?”