ter one had been with Billie five minutes, one would never
again wonder where she got the title.

Whether it was her sparkling brown eyes with the imp of mischief always
lurking in them, or her merry laugh that made every one want to laugh
with her, or the adventurous spirit that made her eager to embark on any
kind of lark, it would be hard to tell--perhaps her popularity arose
from a combination of all of these. But the fact remains that everybody
loved her and she had not an enemy, except, perhaps, Amanda Peabody--but
more of _her_ later!

Then there was Laura Jordon, Billie's best chum, blue-eyed and
golden-haired, who, despite the fact that her father was very wealthy
and owned the thriving jewelry factory in North Bend, was not the
slightest bit spoiled or conceited. She adored Billie, and although the
two would sometimes enter into rather heated discussions, it was usually
Laura who gave in to Billie in the end.

The last of the trio, but decidedly not the least, was Violet
Farrington, who, tall and dark and less hasty and impetuous than the
other two, often found the doubtfully blessed office of peacemaker
thrust upon her. And though her slowness and tendency to hang back
sometimes exasperated her chums, they nevertheless were very fond of
her--and showed it.

Chetwood Bradley, known as Chet to his friends, was Billie's
brother--and very proud of it. He was a splendid, fine looking, rather
thoughtful boy whom everybody liked.

Ferd Stowing was a comical, jolly, all-around good fellow, who, though
he was not related to any of the girls, had been drawn into the group
through his friendship for the boys, Chet and Teddy.

And--Teddy! Teddy, who was the handsomest and gayest of all the boys,
had been Billie's friend and playmate ever since they could remember.
Either of them would have felt lost without the friendship of the other.
Teddy was Laura's brother and had starred in almost all the sports in
which the lads of North Bend had taken part--a fact which did not make
Billie like him any the less.

Just the summer before this story opens, Billie, going back with Violet
and Laura to the grammar school from which they had just graduated, had,
in a moment of thoughtless skylarking, broken a handsome and expensive
statue that belonged to her English teacher--Miss Martha Beggs.

The accident was nothing short of a tragedy to Billie, for her father,
Martin Bradley, a real estate and insurance agent in North Bend