a
houseboat owned by Miss Elting's brother.

The "Red Rover" in its coat of bright new paint looked really fine that
morning. As the girls neared it the odor of fresh paint was borne to
their nostrils on the breeze that drifted in from the lake. Full of
enthusiasm the girls hurried aboard the boat. There was much to be done,
and all were eager to settle their home and to begin the fascinating
life that was before them, a life that not one of the girls had ever
before enjoyed. The painters came soon after, and began putting on the
second coat of paint. The girls, as soon as they had donned aprons and
gloves, started to put on the second coat in the interior of the boat.
The windows were on hand, ready to be set in place and everyone went to
work with a will.

So rapidly did the girls and Jane's painters work that, by noon, the
work, both inside and out, had been completed, including a coat of paint
on the floor. The painters were paid off by Jane and dismissed. Jane
stepped out on the pier to survey the work.

"Girls, we've forgotten something," she cried. "We must have the name on
the side of the boat. The 'Red Rover' you know? I forgot that when the
men were here. Can any of you print?"

"I think perhaps I might do it," answered Miss Elting. "But we shall
have to wait until the red paint dries. Suppose we sit down and rest for
an hour or so?"

"Rest!" shouted Crazy Jane. "There's no rest for the Meadow-Brook Girls.
It's work and trouble and trouble and work all day and all night. Girls,
we've got to have a new stove, and we must have a lot of other things,
including some curtains and home comforts. Can you help me load the old
stove into the car?"

"Not without breaking it, I'm afraid," answered Miss Elting laughingly.

"Then get the axe. We'll smash the old thing. Hey there, you man," Jane
shouted at a passing farmer. "Want to earn fifty cents? Well, get busy
here, and help us move the stove."

With the aid of the farmer they took down the old wood stove and loaded
it into the automobile. Next they made a hurried toilet and drove into
the village. Most of the afternoon was spent in making purchases. All
the bedding had been shipped by freight, as had the folding cots, the
cooking utensils and their tent. Harriet proposed that they make the
tent into an awning over the upper deck. She thought it would be a
pleasant place to sit in the evenings. Her companions agreed with her.
This necessitated calling in a ca