90
VII. THE COTTAGE BESIEGED 107
VIII. HOBO TO THE RESCUE 125
IX. RUTH IN THE ROLE OF HEROINE 143
X. MRS. SNOOKS' EDUCATION 161
XI. DOROTHY GETS INTO MISCHIEF 175
XII. THE NEW LUCY 190
XIII. A BENEFIT PERFORMANCE 205
XIV. AUNT ABIGAIL IS MISLAID 218
XV. PRISCILLA'S LOOKING-GLASS 233
XVI. PEGGY MAKES A SPEECH 247
XVII. A PLAIN TALK 262
XVIII. THE CASTAWAYS 275
XIX. THE RESCUE 292
XX. HOME SWEET HOME 307

PEGGY RAYMOND'S VACATION

CHAPTER I

THE EXODUS

"Do you know, Peggy Raymond, that you haven't made a remark for
three-quarters of an hour, unless somebody asked you a question?--and,
even then, your answers didn't fit."

It was mid-June, and as happens not unfrequently in the month
acknowledging allegiance to both seasons, spring had plunged headlong
into summer, with no preparatory gradations from breezy coolness to
sultry days and oppressive nights. Friendly Terrace wore an air of
relaxation. School was over till September, and now that the bugbear of
final examinations was disposed of, no one seemed possessed of
sufficient energy to attempt anything more strenuous than wielding a
palm-leaf fan.

On Amy Lassell's front porch a quartet of wilted girls lounged about in
attitudes expressive of indolent ease. Tall Priscilla occupied the
hammock, and Ruth was ensconced in a willow rocking-chair, with a
hassock at her feet. Peggy had made herself comfortable on the top step,
with sofa cushions tucked skilfully at the small of her back, and behind
her head. Amy herself sat cross-legged like a Turk on the porch floor
and fanned vigorously to supplement the efforts of the lazy breeze.

Peggy, pondering her friend's accusation with languid interest, dimpled
into a smile which acknowledged its correctness. "Yes, you're right,
Amy," she admitted. "And, if you want to know the reason, it's only that
my thoughts were wandering. The fact is, girls, I