But Betty had stuffed her fingers in her ears and was refusing to
listen. "It is bad enough to have you girls spoil me because I am in
trouble, but when it comes to telling fibs I won't hear you. Of course
you know, Meg Everett, that I am not going to let you spoil everybody's
pleasure on my account," she answered.

Feeling the victory already won, Meg laughed. "John is only to invite
Billy Webster and Frank Wharton and Ralph Bowles and three or four of
his Boy Scout camp. By the way, Betty, one of the things I
particularly wished to talk to you about is this: Shall we ask Anthony
Graham? He seems rather uncouth and the other fellows won't have
anything to do with him. But he is Nan's brother and she is so
splendid I should hate to hurt her feelings."

Betty shook her head. "Anthony isn't the kind of person to invite
though, Meg," she replied without a moment's hesitation. "Of course he
is trying to pull up and keep straight and I feel that we should do all
we can to help him. But inviting him to our parties and treating him
as if he were exactly our equal!" Betty's chin went up in the air and
her face betrayed such a delicate, high-bred disdain that apparently
Anthony's fate was immediately settled.

The little party had now reached the familiar pine woods and there,
only a few yards ahead, stood their deserted cabin. The totem pole
raised its gaunt head to greet them, still decorated with the history
of their year in the woods together. But the doors and windows of the
cabin were barred with heavy planks. Nowhere was there a sign of life.

"Let's go back home at once, please, now that we have seen that
everything is all right," Mollie begged a moment later. "It always
gives me the blues dreadfully to see Sunrise Cabin closed up and to
know that perhaps no one of us shall ever live there again. I never
dreamed when we said good-bye to it last spring that we would not come
out here often for club meetings and parties."

"Parties?" Meg repeated. Then she continued standing perfectly still
and silent for several moments, although the others were moving about
laughing and talking.

"Parties!" she exclaimed again, speaking in such a loud tone that her
companions turned to stare at her in surprise.

"Betty Ashton, Mollie O'Neill and Billy Webster, if you and some of the
others will help us, why can't we have our dinner party here at the
cabin? We are not planning to have it until New Year, so there