“I will, if you will. But—er—Mabel——” She looked questioningly toward her chum, who was strolling with Langridge.
“Oh, bring her along,” invited Phil. “This is an old-fashioned affair, and no special person will bring any one else. Tom and Sid and I will look after you girls.”
“But, Phil, you forget that Mr. Henderson and Mabel——” began Ruth.
“Oh, hang it all, don’t let that matter,” spoke Phil. “I dare say Sid won’t be around. As soon as he gets in the woods or fields he’s always after bugs or animals—he’s a naturalist, you know.”
“I should say so,” agreed Tom. “Remember last fall how he went out after a picture of a fox, and got stuck in the bog, and how Zane caught him, all covered with mud, and thought poor Sid was a thief, and how we pretended we didn’t know our own chum, when the proctor brought him to our room for identification? Remember that, Phil?”
“I should say I did. Well, that’s probably what Sid will do this time, so Miss Harrison needn’t worry about having to accept him as an escort, though for the life of me I can’t understand what’s up between her and Sid?” and Phil looked questioningly at his sister.
“We don’t know, either,” answered Ruth, “except that Mabel is very miserable over it.”
“She can’t be taking it very hard, when I see her off with that chump, Langridge,” retorted Phil.
“Yes, I’m sorry she goes with him,” retorted Madge Tyler. “But she won’t listen to us. However, to change the subject—are we to go to the picnic, Ruth?”
“Oh, I guess so. How will we get there, Phil?”