briskly down the shrubbery path were two heads, a dark one with hair in
a classic knot, and a fair one with a pig-tail. They could just be
distinguished above the line of the laurels. Diana put her hands to her
mouth and called:

"Ad--el--ine!"

The heads turned for a moment to look, then scuttled on with the utmost
rapidity. Diana, following, caught a glimpse of two figures whisking
past the boat-house to the landing-place. She stopped dead.

"So it's Hilary Adeline's taking with her. And they're going in the
boat. Well, of all mean things this is the limit! Adeline hadn't time to
take people on the lake, and wanted to plant seedlings. That's why she
was so anxious to send me off to help Miss Carr. If she won't listen
when I call to her _I_'m not going to bother to give her Miss Hampson's
message. I don't suppose Miss Todd wants her about anything important.
I'm fed up!"

A very disconsolate and indignant Diana once more walked up the garden;
the green-eyed monster was sitting on her back and digging in his
disagreeable talons pretty deeply; he was anything but a bright
companion. She wandered aimlessly round the orchard, and finally came
across Miss Carr and Loveday carrying out food to the chickens. They
were chatting as she met them, and the words drifted to her between the
apple-trees.

"So Mr. Appleton said it really wasn't safe at all, and Miss Todd had
better let nobody take her out till he could come up. He'd try to come
this evening, but he wasn't sure if he'd manage it because--why, Diana,
what's the matter?"

"Is it the boat you're talking about?" demanded a breathless, excited
little figure.

"Yes--but why? Diana! What is it? Di--an--a!"

Loveday spoke to the winds, for already her room-mate was half-way down
the orchard. Diana's feet were trying to keep pace with her whirling
brain. The boat was unsafe! That, no doubt, was the message that Miss
Todd had intended for Adeline. If she had not already started it might
be possible to stop her, or at any rate to call her back. She raced
along the shrubbery and down the bank to the landing-place. But Adeline
and Hilary had wasted no time, and were already quite a considerable
way out on the lake. Diana called and shouted to them. They turned their
heads to look, evidently laughed, and took no notice. It was plain that
they thought Diana wished them to return and take her for a row, and
that they had no intention of any such philanthropic course of actio