As Zan rang the bell of Miss Miller's apartment, a bevy of laughing girls ran to open the door. Miss Miller stood in the doorway of the living-room smiling as they all escorted Zan to greet their hostess.
"Thank goodness, you're here at last! We're all crazy to get down to brass tacks!" cried Hilda, the apostle of slang.
"'Tisn't my fault if I'm late ask Nita what kind of date she made then went ahead and broke it!" pouted Zan angrily.
"Well, you're here, so let the mistake pass," said Hilda.
Miss Miller had seated herself at the desk while the girls selected comfortable seats and waited for her to begin.
"Zan, we were wondering whether the Adirondack plan is the best for all concerned. Just before you arrived, Nita was saying that she wouldn't go to any poky camp near home. She has set her heart on the Adirondacks, it seems."
Zan turned in amazement toward Nita. "Why, you told me that you'd be glad to go anywhere as long as you could get away from your mother's nagging!"
The girls laughed, and Miss Miller had to bite her lip to keep from smiling at Zan's frank manner of telling the truth.
"Oh, that was before Jane's brother told me about the Adirondacks. They had a camp there last summer, you know, and he says that it's loads of fun 'cause so many people camp about the same water, or lake, and every evening they have dancing, or parties, or moon-light outings," replied Nita, undisturbed by Zan's bluntness.
"That's what he said, just because he thought we were going back there this summer and it would be fun for him to have you there to go around with. But father changed his mind this week, and has leased a cottage at the sea-shore instead. Jack wouldn't be so eloquent over the mountains if you should ask him now!" said Jane, who disapproved of Nita's winning ways with her twin.
Nita said nothing, but thought over the unexpected news.
"Well, any one else got a kick coming?" asked Zan, impatiently.
The girls giggled for they well knew that at school Miss Miller would have reprimanded such slang.
No further remarks were heard in complaint, so Miss Miller asked Zan if she had any news to place before them; if not they would discuss the advantage of camping in mountains or country near by.
"Yes, I have!" retorted Zan, emphatically. "I asked the crowd to meet here so's I could tell you all what Daddy offered us this noon. He says we can have Wickeecheokee Farm for our very own all summer if we want it!"
Zan sprung her news with an air of having delivered an all-inclusive reason for accepting the farm offer at once. The faces about her proved that the news did not create the joy she looked for.
"Say, what's the matter with that! Isn't it great?" cried she, impatiently.
"Who wants to camp on a farm?" said Nita, derisively.
"You were crazy to go there last summer since when have you changed your mind?" asked Zan, frowning.
"A camp's not a camp unless it is the wilderness, and you certainly can't claim that for your old farm," pouted Nita.
"My dears, I wish to say a word about the offer," interceded Miss Miller. "I think the doctor's offer at this opportune time is splendid! Hilda was saying just before you came in, Zan, that she didn't see where she could earn enough money to pay her fare to the Adirondacks and back this summer. And Mrs. Marsh won't consent to Elena's going so far away. She's worried for fear Elena will become ill and need her. Then, too, girls, I would rather not spend so much of my salary on
car-fare this season, as I have had extra expenses to carry for my mother's illness this spring."
"Have you thought of anything else, Miss Miller?" asked Jane, who seemed to be as pleased with Zan's idea as any other.
"Not yet, for Zan told me this noon before school that she had a place just made to order for us. Woods, water, gardens and all that heart could desire! I suspected the location of this Eden so did not try to find anything else until after this meeting."
"If Elena's mother doesn't want her to go too far off, the farm will be just the place for her," said Zan.
"But, Zan, I don't want mother popping in on us all summer just as we get interested in swimming or climbing. She'd make me come out of the water and roll myself in hot blankets to keep off a chill!" complained Elena, dolorously.
The girls laughed sympathetically, for they all knew of Mrs. Marsh's fears and foibles.
"No danger of your mother dropping in that way," giggled Zan. "Our farm is a hundred and fifty miles from here, on a branch of an old-time railroad. When you reach the last station you still have to ride ten miles in a springless wagon over rough roads. Ha, ha! I see any of your mothers anxious to visit you after that!"
"I'd be glad to go there, for you know the saying, 'beggars can't be choosers,'" said Hilda.
"I'll go anywhere the rest of you go," added Jane.
"Then, taking Zan's word for our seclusion, I'll agree too," said Elena, eagerly.
"And I have already agreed with pleasure," came from Miss Miller.