the rest of us," spoke up Nellie Bane; "but I
know it won't take you very long, Billie. You were always the very first
to pick up anything."

As with most of the rest of Billie's friends, Nellie shared the
conviction that Billie could do everything she tried to do just a little
bit better than any one else.

"I should say so," Laura added loyally. "There's nothing that you can't
do, Billie."

Billie flushed with pleasure and Rose Belser looked at her with new
interest. For if Rose was not the most popular girl at Three Towers she
certainly thought she was and the praise of Billie's friends started her
thinking. Could it be possible that here was a rival? But she shook her
dark head impatiently. If this Billie Bradley thought she could start
anything, why, she, Rose, would show her, that was all!

And all the time Billie, who had no thought of what was going on in the
other girl's mind, was having the time of her life.

"Look at all the canoes!" she cried. "And they actually have racks for
them."

They had come down to a little dock that jutted out into the lake and
had been hidden from their view, or at least partly so, by the trees.
Now, as they came out upon it, they stood astonished and delighted by
the sight that met their eyes.

There were half a dozen racks on the dock, each one constructed so as to
contain three canoes, one above the other, and every rack was full.

The canoes were each neatly covered with a tarpaulin, but the tarpaulin,
drawn tight, revealed the long graceful outline of each beautiful little
boat, and the girls fairly ached to launch one of them upon the water.

"And there are rowboats, too," cried Vi, making another discovery. "Lots
and lots of them! Look! Here they are--tied to the dock."

Sure enough, there were fully a dozen gaily painted rowboats swaying
gently in the water on either side of the dock, sometimes straining a
little at the ropes that held them.

"But who would row when they could canoe?" cried Billie, for in Billie
was a passion for canoes which Chet had always declared must have come
from her Indian ancestors. "I think rowboats are horribly clumsy."

"Hardly anybody really likes to row," Connie answered, "but we have to
do it for the exercise, Miss Walters says there's no better exercise in
the world than rowing."

"Yes," said Billie, with a little laugh. "And no harder work, either."

"Do you do much swimming in the lake?" asked Nellie, gazing down at her
r