and they all started for the station.

Mr. and Mrs. Jordon were with Teddy and Laura. Teddy said that Ferd was
on his way, but had told them not to wait for him, he'd catch up to them
later.

A little farther on they picked up Violet and Mr. and Mrs. Farrington,
and after that there was no more time to think of being homesick.

There was something in the sunshine, the crisp air, the brilliant,
changing colors of the leaves on the trees that went to Billie's head
and made her feel as though she were walking on air.

"Do you suppose Ferd will catch up to us?" she asked of Teddy. Teddy was
looking unusually handsome this morning--at least so Billie thought--and
she was surprised to find that he was walking beside her. "It would be
awful if he made us miss the train."

"You don't think we'd _wait_ for him do you?" asked Teddy scornfully.
"If Ferd's late he'll be the only one to miss the train!"

Both Teddy and Billie had always agreed that if you talked of an angel
he or she was sure to turn up, and in this case their faith was
justified.

For just as they reached the station platform a figure that looked very
familiar turned the corner and came rushing down toward them as if bent
on running a Marathon.

"There's Ferd--and here's the train," announced Teddy, as a shrill
whistle made them jump and look eagerly down the track. "Not much time
to waste at that."

The young folks were so taken up in the leave taking that they failed to
notice two girls who got on the train just after them. Even if they had
not been able to see the faces of these newcomers, an overheard sentence
or two would have given them the clue to their identity.

"Isn't it just like them, the stuck up things," one of the girls said to
the other, "to bring all their relations to see them off?"

"Never mind," said the other with a malicious grin. "I guess I gave them
rather a jolt the other day when I told them I was going to Three Towers
too. I guess they thought they owned the place and ought to have it all
to themselves."

However, the boys and girls were perfectly unaware of this conversation
concerning themselves; although it probably would not have bothered them
very greatly if they had heard it.

They were still leaning out of the window, calling to those left on the
platform and answering injunctions "not to get killed" from their
mothers and to "please be careful and not get into any more scrapes than
they could help" from their fathe