“No, run along and ski,” Mrs. Weems smiled. “In spirit you’re already out there on the hills!”
Penny changed quickly into skiing outfit and telephoned Louise Sidell, inviting her to go along.
“Okay,” her chum agreed half-heartedly, “but I’m still lame from the last time.”
By the time the girls reached the hills near the Abbington Monastery, the weather had turned discouragingly warm.
Touring over the slopes, they discarded first their mittens, then their jackets. After Louise had fallen down several times, soaking her clothes in melted snow, she proposed that they abandon the sport.
“So early in the afternoon?” Penny protested. “Oh, we can’t go home yet!”
“Then let’s try something else. It’s no fun skiing today.”
Penny’s gaze fastened speculatively upon the distant chimneys of the old monastery visible through the pine trees. “I have it, Lou!” she exclaimed.
“We’re not going there!” cried Louise, reading the thought.
“Why not?” Already Penny was removing her skis. “I haven’t learned half what I want to know about that place and the people who live there.”