hed the girls. "Or, perhaps
it should be made to cover my face entirely?"

"I think the latter--with places for the eyes and nose," said Allen in
the same tone of voice.

"Anybody who invented such a hat would be a benefactor to the world at
large, Frank," said Betty, as she swept past him--her nose in the air.

"Oof! That was an awful one," returned Frank, while Grace chuckled at
his discomfiture. "A few more of those, Betty, and I am afraid I shall
have to stay at home!"

"That sounds just like Percy," Betty remarked, as the boys deposited the
luggage in the car and opened the door for the girls. "For goodness'
sake, don't take him for a model, Frank."

"I wonder where the dear old chappie is, anyway," remarked Allen as he
took his seat between Betty and Mrs. Irving in the tonneau. Grace was to
sit with Frank. "I haven't seen him about town lately. I wonder if
mother has taken her darling boy to the seashore," he added, as the car
moved off.

"I hope so. If she would only take him to Kalamazoo it would suit me
better," said Betty. "It's a wonder he didn't invite himself to come
along."

"Nothing doing!" laughed Frank. "I can just imagine darling Percy
sleeping in a tent and cooking his own meals. Can't you, Allen? Oh, what
a circus!"

"It is rather hard to imagine the immaculate Percy in those
surroundings," drawled Grace. "He would be running down to the river to
wash his hands every two minutes. How do we get over to the island from
the mainland, Betty, do you remember?" she added. "I know Mollie said
something about a steamer, but I didn't get a very good idea of it."

"Oh, we will have lots of fun on it," Betty answered, enjoying the
prospect immensely. "Mollie says it is an old, rickety thing that looks
as if it were going to pieces any minute. She thinks it must be at least
two hundred years old, if what her aunt says is true. It will be awfully
interesting."

"Yes, especially if it fulfills its promise and goes to pieces in the
middle of the lake," Grace remarked dryly. "I wouldn't mind the dip in
weather like this, but I would rather choose the time and place."

"Well, perhaps it _would_ be better if we put on our bathing suits
first," Betty admitted. "Then we would at least be prepared for the
worst."

"I wouldn't call that the worst thing that could happen to us," said
Allen; and when the girls looked to him for an explanation he added: "It
would be no end of fun to be dumped in the river wit