“Better be careful,” cautioned Nancy, “or you’ll give them away yourself, Rosa. That’s the worst of having secrets; they’re so tricky.”
“Now we’re getting interesting,” remarked Paul. “Go ahead, Nancy. Give us your idea of—secrets.”
“Oh, she hasn’t any,” put in Rosa, rather flustered. “That is, she hasn’t any of my kind; she doesn’t have to.”
Everybody laughed at that except Rosa, and even to Paul Randolph, the stranger, Rosa’s uneasiness must have been evident. Quickly deciding to save her cousin from further embarrassment, Nancy broke into a lively talk about New Hampshire, comparing it with Massachusetts, and insisting that the big, measureless lake, with mountains all around it, and according to tradition with mountains hidden in its depth, was no more scenically beautiful than many another less famous and much smaller lake in the sister state.
“I’ll show you scenery,” declared Gar in worthy defense of his adopted territory. “Over among those hills there’s everything you could imagine in the way of rocks and lands and vegetation—”
“Except pretty wild flowers,” cut in Nancy. “And you don’t even have very pretty ferns.”
Whereat a general study in the ferns all around them was begun. The little by-play helped to make talk and the interest shown was surely genuine, although occasionally Rosa would step aside with Gar and insist upon whispering to him. Nancy tried to keep up her contention that New Hampshire ferns were not as lacy as those of Massachusetts, but the argument going on between Rosa and Gar was hard to close her ears to.
“Say!” called out Paul suddenly, kicking over a big bunch of “umbrella fungus,” “what’s going on between you two anyway? Don’t you want an umpire?”
“No,” fired back Gar, “a referee would be better. Rosa thinks because I’m an old friend she can get me into her sort of scrapes. You’ve no idea, Nancy,” he sighed playfully, “how many scrapes Rosa can get into.”
“Oh, you think you’re smart, don’t you?” snapped Rosa, childishly. “Just because—because I happen to have different plans from yours, Gar.”