garden which was only accessible from
the rear of the scullery. She had observed it from the vantage-ground of
the roof, and had decided that, by climbing on to a low shed, it would
be quite possible to scale the wall which divided the grounds of the
Villa Camellia from those of its next door neighbor. The girls had
always been extremely curious about the Villa Sutri. From their
dormitory windows they could catch a glimpse of its green shutters and
creeper-covered walls, set away among a thick grove of trees, and they
had decided that its garden looked immensely superior to their own. The
estate belonged to Count Sutri, who often spent part of the winter and
spring among his orange groves and his flowery pergolas. He was supposed
to have a reputation for gardening, and rumors of his wonderful exotics
had circulated round the school. None of the girls, however, had ever
actually been inside the grounds.

Peachy's project was, of course, extremely audacious, and had the Count
been at home she would hardly have dared to let it materialize. She had
heard Mrs. Clark mention on Sunday that their neighbor had started for a
cruise in his yacht, and that he would probably be away for a
considerable time.

"The Villa will be shut up, and only a few gardeners left about the
place," declared Peachy, "and if I know anything of Italian gardeners,
they'll all be sitting smoking inside the summer-house, so we needn't
trouble ourselves to worry about them. It's the opportunity of a
lifetime. I saw the whole thing in a flash from the roof. There's a shed
on our side of the wall and a shed on his. All you have to do is to step
over and get down. Nothing could be simpler. I'm just aching to explore
that garden."

Delia, still thinking of her exeat, demurred, and even Irene's valor
slightly quailed.

"Oh, come on! Be sports!" tempted Peachy. "You'll never get such a
chance in your lives again--never."

So they hesitated, and were lost, and finally followed their leader up
the low, sloping roof of the shed.

As Peachy had prophesied, it was really remarkably easy. They had only
to scale quite a low piece of wall, and drop on to the roof of the shed
on the other side, then scramble down into Count Sutri's garden. In less
than five minutes the feat was accomplished, and three rather awed but
delighted girls were speeding along a green alley in quest of adventure.

There was no doubt about it being a beautiful garden. It was more
care