“There’s one thing we must remember,” said Betty soberly. “And that is, not to neglect our Old Maid of the Mountains just because the boys are here. I think she has come to depend on us more than we think.”
The girls agreed to this, saying that nothing should make them forget the lonely little old lady in the cabin up on the hill.
And then, a little before they expected them, came the boys.
The girls heard their voices before they saw them, and Betty’s heart jumped when she recognized Allen’s voice. Not till that moment had she realized how great had been her fear that his “mysterious” case would make it necessary for him to remain in town.
The girls gave one hasty moment to the smoothing of their hair, made untidy by a rather stiff breeze, and the next moment were rushing into the woods to meet the boys half way.
They had agreed not to show too much enthusiasm over the arrival of the latter for the reason, as Mollie had stated, that the boys were getting spoiled with so much attention showered upon them.
But in the joy of the moment the girls forgot all about their resolution, with the result that the boys were treated to a most riotous welcome.
“Seems as if we were getting pretty popular around here, fellows,” said Roy, with a grin, and Mollie promptly attempted to put him in his place.
“Any man would be welcome under the circumstances,” she said haughtily, and not till afterward did the boys think to ask her what she meant by that statement.
As for Allen, he made straight for Betty where she had lingered a little behind the others.