the luxury of a
private car, why it's twice as thrilly." Joy choked as a laugh and a
sob got mixed up together. Then making an elaborate but not very
polite grimace at her chum, she disappeared into the car that was to
carry her and her chums westward.

"There, she's herself again," laughed Bet. "That face indicates that
Joy is happy."

Bet was glowing with excitement. It was her first long trip away from
her home in Lynnwood on the Hudson, and the promise of a summer of
adventure in the Arizona mountains was almost too good to be true. Or
so it seemed to the girl.

Her one regret was that her father was not coming with her. From the
observation car she was calling her farewell messages to him as he
stood on the platform of the station. Bet was his only child and the
responsibility of looking after her and trying to make up for the loss
of her mother, was sometimes a heavy burden on Colonel Baxter. There
was an anxious look in his face now, although he knew that his daughter
would be well taken care of by Judge Breckenridge and his wife, who had
invited Bet and her chums to be their guests for the summer.

Anyone but an over-anxious parent would have felt confident that Bet
Baxter could look out for herself under any circumstances. Her
straight young body had poise and assurance of power and she had a
resourcefulness of mind that made her a leader among her friends.

Bet was nearer to real tears than she would have admitted to any one.
Back there was her father, the very best chum she had, and to be going
away where she could not see him every week-end made a strange catch in
her breath.

Shirley realized what Bet was experiencing and stepping to her side,
called gaily to the Colonel.

"Hold that pose, Colonel. I'm going to take a picture of you."

Wherever one saw Shirley, they usually saw a camera for she rarely let
it out of her hands during a trip, and now as the shutter clicked she
said to Bet: "That's the third picture I've taken of him. You'll have
those to look at."

"Thanks, Shirley, that's good of you. And I shouldn't feel so
frightfully homesick for Dad may come out to see us in a few weeks."

"Oh, won't that be great," exclaimed Shirley. "He is just like one of
the boys."

"Doesn't it seem strange not to have the boys here to bid us good-bye.
It's never happened before."

The boys were Bob Evans, Joy's brother, and his chum, Phil Gordon,
favorites with the girls and always inclu