She thought: "The darlings! And I have to be the one to order them back to their books!"
At five minutes to three, Bet bent her head over her book, declaring that she would not look at the clock again until it was three. Then, when she was certain that the minute hand must be pointing to twelve, she looked up and gave a gasp. Only one minute had gone by! How the time dragged!
But at last the welcome sound of dismissal bell did come and the girls were free. They ran all the way to the shop.
"It's a good thing I carry my key with me, or we would have lost about ten minutes," said Shirley and she unlocked the door and let the girls in.
Shirley made a dive toward the dark room.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Joy.
"I'll get everything ready in here to develop the plate; just as soon as Colonel Baxter comes."
At exactly quarter past three Bet's father arrived, bearing Shirley's camera as if it were the queen's fan itself.
"Here's your deer, Shirley. Put him in the bath and let's have a look at him. I'm first!"
"You've earned that right," Shirley answered.