rs, when the guard shouted a warning
and the train started off.

They waved until the station and the people on it were out of sight,
then settled back in their seats "to view the prospect o'er," Chet said.

For a moment they all felt a little lost and queer, though nothing in
the world could have made them confess to the feeling. But the little
wave of homesickness soon passed off, swallowed up by the vision of the
amazing adventure ahead of them.

Before the little party had stowed away their baggage and taken off
their wraps, several boys and girls they had known at school came over
to greet them and talk things over, and Billie, leaning over to rescue a
box of chocolates that had fallen at her feet, suddenly looked up and
right into the beaming face of Nellie Bane.

Nellie was a friend of the chums who had rather expected to go to Three
Towers Hall with them at first. But Mr. and Mrs. Bane had suddenly
decided to go to Europe and take Nellie with them, which had rather
upset Nellie's plans. And now here she was on the train with them.

"Why, Nellie!" Billie cried, almost dropping the chocolates again in her
surprise and delight. "How did you get here----"

"Through the window," mocked Nellie, and dropped into a vacant seat
beside Laura.

"But," stammered the latter, her eyes round and wide with wonder, "the
last we heard of you you were going to England."

"Yes. But an aunt of Daddy's died and he decided we'd better postpone
the voyage until next summer."

"Are you glad or sorry?" demanded Billie breathlessly.

"Glad," said Nellie without a moment's hesitation. "I want to go to
Europe, of course. But I can go there any old time, and I was simply
wild to go to Three Towers with you girls. You'll never know how jealous
I was," she ended with a sigh.

"Isn't it funny?" marveled Violet. "And here we were envying you!"

They laughed, and thereupon entered into a spirited conversation that
lasted until Ferd interrupted to inquire what they were keeping the
chocolates to themselves for, anyway. Did they think they had a corner
on the chocolate market? To this Billie answered by holding out the
whole box, showing that they had been too busy talking even to open it.

This interruption led to others, however, and they found that nearly the
whole car was occupied by girls and boys from North Bend who were going
to Three Towers or the Boxton Military Academy.

At last, wearied with excitement and visiting, Billi