And now they were all bound and determined to make a success of their summer hotel. “We’ve got plenty of time to get organized in,” Penny argued. She pushed her light brown hair out of her eyes with one hand and tucked the last clothespin in place with the other. “Here come Marjorie and Jimmy. You can organize us all right now.”
“Hi,” Jimmy called, striding toward them. He was the darkest member of the family, contrasting sharply with Marjorie.
She was very fair, with light golden hair and light-blue eyes. Her slight figure and small delicate hands gave her an almost elfin grace to which was added a delightfully mischievous quality. “She looks delicate,” Jimmy often said. “But the kid’s as tough as nails.”
Jimmy’s current aim in life was to reach at least six feet before he stopped growing. Almost daily the slender, seventeen-year-old boy insisted that Philip stand back to back with him in order to determine whether or not he had finally become the tallest member of the family.
Judging by the quantities of food he packed away, Penny felt sure that he would never stop growing. Moreover, it seemed to her that he was quite tall enough now. What he needed to do was to gain a little weight.
“A summer here, spent mostly outdoors,” she said to Philip, “will do both Marjorie and Jimmy a world of good. I hope they each gain a few pounds before they go back to school.”
Marjorie, who had been trailing behind Jimmy, called out then: “Now that the blankets are airing, Penny, can’t we go through the stuff in the storage room?” She broke into a run and arrived by the clothesline almost out of breath. “I can’t wait to see what’s in those old trunks.”
“Probably nothing but junk,” Jimmy said. “You know what Uncle John always called this place.”
When they had first come to the Michigan house early in the fall they had expected to find a shack because their Uncle John had always referred to it as the “Michigan Shack.” But in spite of its name, it had turned out to be a very pretentious log structure evidently built for just such a purpose as they were planning to put it to now.
Allen Lodge was imposing with its wide front and its two-story porches. The spacious living room was two stories high with the bedrooms opening off a balcony which extended around three sides of the room. The large dining room, kitchen and pantry, were on the Lake side. There were great fireplaces in many of the rooms and Philip said that it must have been planned as a summer hotel or a hunting lodge because the arrangement was ideal for large numbers of people.