CHAPTER III—GREEN HILL FARM
Saturday morning Miss Mason drove her brother’s car up to the curb before the elegant apartment house where Natalie lived, and motioned the door-man to come out.
“Please telephone to the Averills’ apartment and say Miss Mason is waiting in the car. Let me know if they are ready.”
The uniformed attendant bowed politely and hurried in to obey the order. In a few moments Miss Mason heard a happy voice calling from the window in one of the upper apartments. She leaned out and tried to look up, but all she could see was a fluttering of several handkerchiefs waved from several hands.
Then the porter came out and smilingly said: “Mrs. James says they will be right down, Miss.”
“Thank you,” was Miss Mason’s reply, and she sat back to wait. But she had not very long for that, as a bevy of merry girls hurried out of the front door and ran across the walk.
“Oh, Miss Mason! Isn’t it a glorious day?” called Janet.
“Couldn’t be finer if we had ordered it for our trip!” added Belle joyously.
“And what do you think, Miss Mason?” cried Natalie, as happy as the others. “Jimmy had Rachel pack us a lovely picnic lunch so we could spend some time at the farm this noon. Won’t it be fun?”
“Indeed it will—especially if that famous cook of yours prepared the goodies, Natalie,” laughed Miss Mason.