Linda, indifferently. "They're great pals."
"But whom will you ask? At this late date?"
"I really think I'd rather stay home, Auntie, if you don't mind. Because – well – Daddy might come – and I'd hate to be so far away. They're going all the way over to Grier's woods, I recall hearing Dot say, and you know that's at least fifteen miles."
"Of course, dear – do just as you like," replied her aunt, putting her motherly arms around her. "Only don't count too much on your father's coming!"
So Linda went to bed that night, little thinking that her plans would be changed the following morning, and that, in later years, she was to look back upon that day as one of the most wonderful of her whole life!
Chapter III
Her Father's Gift
As Linda had no plans for the day after her class exercises, she had intended to sleep late. But the arrival of her chum, Louise Haydock, accompanied by Ralph Clavering and his Harvard room-mate, Maurice Stetson, changed things for her.
At half-past eight her aunt came into her bedroom, half apologetically, half smiling.
"Linda dear, I want you to wake up," she said. "You have company."
"Yes?" replied the girl sleepily.
"You are rested, aren't you? And it's so much cooler. It's a real June day – the kind the poets write about!"
Linda sat up in bed, and blinked her eyes. Then suddenly she thought of her father. Did Aunt Emily mean he had come?
"Daddy?" she asked excitedly. "Do you mean he's here?"
Miss Carlton's smile faded; she had not meant to mislead her niece. It was cruel to disappoint her.
"No, dear. It's only Louise – with Ralph and another boy. They want you to wake up, and go on the picnic."
"Oh, I see… But you know I didn't invite anybody, Aunt Emily."
"That's just it. You're to go with this other boy. He's Ralph's room-mate, and he's here on a visit. You will go, won't you, dear?"
"Yes, of course, if Lou wants me to. I'll get dressed right away… And Auntie, may I have some strawberries up here, to eat after I take my shower? That's all the breakfast I'll want."
"Certainly, dear. I'll send Anna up right away. And how soon shall I tell Louise that you'll be ready?"
"Ten minutes!"
Linda jumped out of bed, and began to sing as she took her cold shower. It was a wonderful day – a good world after all! Of course the picnic would be fun; she was glad now that she wasn't going to miss it. Lou was a peach to arrange things for her in this way! And it would be exciting to meet a new man. She wondered what he would be like, and hoped she would find him nice. But, even if she didn't, it wouldn't be necessary to stay with him all day. There wasn't much "two's-ing" in their crowd.
Ten minutes later she found her visitors on the porch, singing and amusing themselves, for Miss Carlton had gone to oversee the packing of Linda's lunch. Ralph introduced his friend, Maurice Stetson, a short, light-haired youth, who was utterly at ease with everybody, and who seemed to think that he was born to be funny. Indeed, he called himself "the prince of wise-crackers." Linda, who was both sensitive and shy, was afraid she would be made uncomfortable by his comments.
"Miss Linda Carlton," he repeated, solemnly shaking her hand. "The famous Lindy's namesake?.. Let's see – what year was that when he flew the Atlantic? About twenty-seven? Why, you can't be more than three years old!"
Linda smiled; she really couldn't laugh at the silly remark, though the others seemed to think him exceedingly witty.
"And is your ambition flying?" he asked.
Linda blushed; she had no desire to admit her dreams and ambitions to the general public.
"Doesn't everybody want to fly now-a-days?" she countered.
"Not your uncle Maurice!" replied the youth, gravely. "My dad gave me a plane, and I wrecked it. I'm through! My flying almost took me to the angels!"
"What's this?" interrupted Miss Carlton, coming out on the porch with a hamper of lunch for the picnic. "You've been in an airplane accident?"
"And how!" he replied, feelingly.
"Now you see, Linda! You better not go over to that field again! I'm so afraid of planes!"
"All right, Aunt Emily," replied the girl, graciously. "You needn't worry today, anyhow. We're going to the picnic in cars."
But, had Miss Carlton seen Maurice Stetson behind the wheel of his yellow sports roadster, hitting seventy-five miles an hour, and all the while keeping up a conversation not only with Linda beside him, but with the couple in the rumble-seat as well, she would not have felt so satisfied.
Nevertheless, nothing happened, and the picnic promised to be lots of fun. The girls had selected a beautiful wooded spot outside of the city, where a lovely stream widened into a small lake, deep enough for swimming.
Most of the others had already arrived in their cars, when Louise's party drove up. Two large tents, on opposite sides of the lake, had been set up early in the morning for bath-houses.
"Everybody into their suits!" cried Sara Wheeler, who seemed to be managing the picnic, because her mother was the chaperon. "First one into the water gets a prize!"
"Then I get it, without even trying," remarked Harriman Smith, a nice boy, and a particular friend of Linda's, "because I have mine on now! I got dressed in it this morning, and carried my other clothing."
"Lazy brute!" exclaimed Maurice, enviously, wishing that he had thought of such a labor-saving device.
In fifteen minutes the whole crowd were in the water, diving and swimming, and ducking each other, and finally dividing off into sides for a game of water-polo. It was only when they actually smelled the steaks that Mrs. Wheeler's cooks were broiling, that they were finally induced to leave the lake and get dressed.
A treasure-hunt through the woods was the program for the afternoon. Linda, who had expected to be coupled with Maurice Stetson for this event, was agreeably surprised to find herself with Ralph Clavering. Louise's doing, in all probability! No doubt she guessed that her chum did not care for Maurice.
They walked along slowly, keeping their eyes on the ground for all possible clews, chatting at intervals about the class-day and the usual gossip, and now and then, when they met other couples, stopping to compare notes. Finally Ralph spoke about his plans for the summer months.
"I'm hoping to persuade your aunt to go to Green Falls with us, Linda," he said. "There will be quite a bunch of us together. Dot Crowley, Sue, Sally Wheeler, and of course Lou and Kit – from your sorority, and some of the boys from our frat, besides several from Spring City. Harry Smith's going to get a job as a life-guard, and Maurice has promised to go. We ought to be able to make whoopee, all right!"
"Sounds good," admitted Linda, absently.
"Yes, and I really think we could pull off some serious work there."
"Serious work?" repeated Linda. As far as she knew, Ralph had never done any real work in his life.
"Yeah.
