Apparently with the desire to make the newcomers feel more at home, Mrs. Perry remarked unexpectedly:
"Jeanette, won't you tell Mr. and Mrs. Barret and Margery and Mason of your discovery of the silver arrow and the club you have formed in the neighborhood? Perhaps you and Cecil may allow Margery and Mason to attend your meetings, even if it is not possible they should be members."
Jeanette forgot herself.
Each time she told the story of the finding of the silver arrow it became more of a mystery. There had been so many other things to absorb them at the outset she and her sisters had given little thought to the origin of the arrow. Was it not pleasanter and more romantic to consider that the arrow had sped from the bow of some unknown winged messenger? Now when Jeanette told the story she would like to have been able to offer some explanation. People always inquired who it was that had shot the arrow into the depth of the ravine.
At the first pause in the conversation Mr. Barret did ask.
Jeanette could only shake her head.
"No one knows whence the arrow came, and I suppose this is one of the reasons why we are all so interested. Perhaps some day, when one of us wins the reward of courage, the mystery may be solved."
Cecil turned to his mother.
"Here's an idea, Mater. Why not send for a target and arrows and let the members of the Silver Arrow club attempt to learn archery? I tried once and was a duffer at it, but it was fun. There is a big lawn here at the side of the house and I don't believe Mr. and Mrs. Colter would object to our target practice."
Jeanette's eyes shone.