"Yes, I heard," said Laura faintly. "Girls, do you think she could have been telling the truth?"
"I don't see why she should want to fib about it," said Vi, feeling rather bewildered. "She'd know we would soon find it out."
"Oh, but it's too awful!" burst out Billie suddenly. "Why, girls, it's apt to spoil our whole year! Just think of having that sneak around, prying into all our affairs and reporting every little thing we do."
"I guess the only way out of that is not to do anything she can report," said Violet ruefully, and Laura caught her up quickly.
"There you go taking all the fun out of it before we start," she said, and in spite of their consternation the girls had to laugh.
"Why, you actually sound as if you intended to break the rules," said Billie, drolly adding, with a prim little pucker of her mouth: "Laura, I'm surprised at you."
"Listen to the good little girl talking," gibed Laura. "I never knew you to get into any mischief, Billie,—oh, no!"
"Well, I won't quarrel with you about it," said Billie, calmly adding with a little chuckle: "If we try to have any midnight feast at Three Towers with sweet Amanda wandering round loose we will have to appoint a guard to stand outside the door and warn us."
"I suppose that will be my job," said Violet plaintively. "It will be lots of fun standing out in a drafty hall looking for Amanda while you girls are having a feast."
"No, we'll fix it so it will be perfectly fair," said Billie soothingly. "We'll draw lots or something."