ooked like veritable scrub women.

"Let's all work on the same side of the boat," called Jane. "I want one
side to get dry so we can begin to paint it." The slap, slap of the
painters' brushes already was heard on the outside. The remaining boards
over the windows had been torn off and carefully laid aside for other
uses.

Two hours later Jane got the painters to open the cans of white paint
and stir up the contents. The men put in plenty of drier so the paint
would dry quickly and began their work. Tommy could not resist trying to
paint too. Seizing a brush she began laying about her, sending the paint
into her hair, over her clothes and spattering her companions until they
threatened to throw her overboard if she did not desist. Tommy's impish
face already was decorated with polka dots of white paint.

"I would suggest that Tommy go out and use some red paint," said Harriet
laughingly. "Some red dots would make you look perfectly lovely, dear."

"Yes and some blue," added Jane. "She'd be red, white and blue then, and
we could hang her over the stern. That would save getting a flag."

"Girls, what are we going to do with the ceiling!" asked Miss Elting,
regarding it with wrinkled forehead.

"We might paint in white between the beams, covering the beams
themselves with green," suggested Harriet.

"That would be pretty," agreed the guardian, tilting her head to one
side and regarding the ceiling reflectively. "Yes, it would be very
artistic. Have we any green paint?"

"We'll have some," answered Jane promptly. "What shade?"

"Grath green," suggested Tommy.

"Olive," suggested Hazel.

Miss Elting nodded. Olive green paint would look well for the ceiling,
she decided. Already the interior of the houseboat was beginning to
brighten. But they saw that, to do a thoroughly good job, at least two
coats of paint would be necessary. They hoped to get one coat of paint
on before night, putting on the finishing coat on the following morning.

The slap, slap of the brushes outside had ceased and the men were heard
talking. Jane rushed out brandishing her paint brush.

"Get to work, you lazy bones!" she shouted. "Am I paying you for holding
conversations about red paint! On with your work!"

Jane presented such a ferocious appearance that the painters resumed
their work hurriedly. There was no more lagging on their part. Jane
frequently ran out to see what they were doing. The result was that the
"Red Rover" was paint