The toy telephone was strung that day from the girls’ bungalow to that of the boys’, and it worked quite well. As simple as it was, and it scarcely could have been more simple, talk could be plainly heard over it. The string took up the vibrations imparted to the parchment by the voice, and transmitted them across space to the other end of the line. Of course the string had to be tight, and it must not touch anything in its course, or the vibrations would have been interfered with. But space was what they had most of in Camp Surprise.
“To my mind the camp isn’t living up to its name,” declared Paul, after the telephone had been put up and tested, the boys sending any number of foolish messages over the string. “No, sir! There hasn’t been a surprise worth talking about,” went on Paul. “Why doesn’t something happen?”
“Give it time,” suggested Jack.
“Perhaps that noise was the start,” said Cora to Belle when they were alone.
“Perhaps.”
The trip down to the hotel had given the young folks the information that there were dances twice a week, the Saturday night “hop” being quite an event. They were cordially invited to attend, and the first Saturday night in camp they took advantage of the chance.
The crowd was not large, but, as Walter said, it was “nice and comfortable,” and the girls and boys thoroughly enjoyed the dance. The hotel proprietor introduced them to some other young folks and, as was voted by Jack and his chums afterward, “a large and glorious time was had by all.”
“What a splendid moon!” cried Belle, as she walked along with Jack on the way home. “It’s a shame to go to bed.”
“Let’s don’t!” proposed Paul. “Let’s go down where we left the motor boat and have a ride.”
“Let’s don’t!” cried Cora. “Walk over that rough mountain road at this hour of the night? I guess not!”