“‘I NEVER IN MY LIFE!’ SHE EXCLAIMED.”
“’Twas merely a guess of my friend,” said Harry, in a deprecating way, as he rose to pump some water. But the repressed twitching around Gordon’s rebellious lips made the girl suspicious.
“You’re just fooling me!” she cried. “You must know them!”
In a few minutes it was all out. Gordon, entirely heedless of Harry’s scowls and embarrassment, gave her a complete account of the rescue of little Penfield and their subsequent visit at the Danforth place. She was entirely of Gordon’s way of thinking as to the acceptance of the boat, and assured Harry that there was really no hope of escaping Mr. Danforth. “You might just as well have taken it,” she said, “and then you wouldn’t have to be worrying about what he might do next.”
“You don’t think he’ll really get up a conspiracy?” Harry laughed.
“I know he will, and it will serve you right; you did interfere with his liberty.”
“Now you see,” sneered Gordon, with great satisfaction. “What did I tell you? He never takes my advice,” he added, confidentially, to the girl. “Now you take to-day, if he only had—”
“Is that a tennis court over there?” Harry interrupted.
“Yes—do you like tennis? I hate croquet—they all play croquet here, and there’s not a boy in the place. Oh, I wish I were you, you can have such fun, going wherever you want to, and just camping out.”