"Oh I'll be careful. Isn't it beautiful!"
"If I were you, Laura, I'd take a few turns around the rooms, show off the fan and then put it away. It's an antique and I know it's valuable."
It was Phil Gordon who spoke, as he examined the fan and returned it to her.
But Laura did not seem to realize that the fan had any great value. Phil picked it up several times when she had left it carelessly on chairs or tables, and after it had been lost and found several times, he refused to give it back to her.
In the midst of the gaiety, Joy ran into the room, pale with fright. "I don't think it's fair," she complained. "One of the boys was hiding in the hall, and frightened me."
"Who was it?" demanded Bet indignantly.
"I don't know," replied Joy. "He ran down the hall as fast as he could go."
"Let's find him," exclaimed Phil Gordon.
"And if it's one of the boys we'll send him home," said Bob.
"I wish you would." Bet was troubled. With her father away, she felt that the young people should not take advantage in that way.