"Tain't fair. I'm an honest man, I am. You lemme alone."

"I'll do worse than s...o...b..ll you if you don't clear out, and that mighty quick," cried the blacksmith. "I know what you came in this place for--you came to steal horseshoes and then sell 'em over to Beavertown."

"I didn't--I came in to git warm," sniveled the tramp. But then, as the blacksmith reached for a whip, he fairly ran down the snowy road and out of sight.

"Wasn't I lucky?" said Bess, when the girls had explained matters to the blacksmith and moved on once more in the direction of the hall. "Only a tramp, and it might have been the blacksmith himself!"

"Well, we admit your aim was good," answered Nan drily.

As they made their way back to the school the girls talked over the matter of Mrs. Bragley's property. They came across Grace in the hall, and, bearing her off to Nan's room, told her the story of Sunny Slopes.

"Why!" exclaimed Grace, as a thought suddenly struck her, "I'll have dad look that up while we're down at Palm Beach. You know he's a lawyer.

Maybe Sunny Slopes isn't far from where we'll be staying. I'll get him to see what he can do."

"That will be perfectly darling!" exclaimed Nan enthusiastically, and the others heartily agreed with her.

The next day, while returning from town where they had been stocking up for the feast they had promised themselves, they again met Walter Mason.

"h.e.l.lo, girls," he called, as he came up to them.

"h.e.l.lo, Palm Beach," returned Laura.

"So you've heard about it, have you?" Walter responded, with a laugh.

"Have we?" replied Nan. "We haven't heard or talked or thought of anything else since Grace told us."

"Of course you're going along?" said Bess questioningly.

"Of course," Walter answered. "But, to tell the truth, I'm not a bit eager to go. I'd rather stay right here."

They chatted a few minutes longer, and then Walter left them and the girls resumed their walk toward the school.

"Why do you suppose Walter would rather stay here than go to Palm Beach?" Laura asked innocently of no one in particular.

"That isn't hard to guess," replied Bess, with a mischievous glance at Nan. "What do you think about it, Nan?"

"I haven't any opinion," answered Nan demurely. "What I do know, though, is that we'll have to hurry if we get back to the school before dark."

That night had been set for the "spread," and the girls went early to their rooms to get their lessons for the next day out of the way. A most unusual and unnatural silence reigned in Nan's room for nearly two hours. It was broken by a book snapping shut as Bess sprang to her feet, exclaiming with satisfaction:

"There, that's done! And it's the last, thank fortune."

"Same here," answered Nan happily, as she gathered books and paper together and tossed them into a far corner of the room.

"Why, Nan!" exclaimed Bess in surprise, glancing at the clock, "where do you suppose the girls are? They were to be on hand at ten o'clock, and it's now five minutes after."

"Lessons," replied Nan laconically. "They'll be here any second now."

As she spoke the door opened softly, and Laura slipped in with a bundle of things in her arms. Placing them on the table, she went back and softly closed the door.

"Do you know, girls," she said in a low tone, "I met Linda Riggs as I was coming through the hall, and her eyes were two big bundles of curiosity when she saw the things in my arms. I shouldn't be surprised----"

Suddenly, without waiting to finish the sentence, she went back to the door, opened it quickly and stepped out into the hall to see Linda, looking red and confused, walking hurriedly away.

Laura called after her.

"Was there anything you wanted, Linda?" she inquired sweetly.

"No, thank you," came the pert rejoinder. "Not now. Later, perhaps."

Laura returned.

"Of all the mean, sneaking----" she began, but Nan laughingly interrupted.

"There, there, Laura, what's the use? Don't give her a second thought."

"She isn't worth it, that's a fact," Laura contented herself with saying, and the next minute the entrance of the other girls laden with parcels put anything else out of her mind.

Rhoda's box, much to the girl's uneasiness, had been delayed, but had come that night just before dinner. Now she deposited it unopened on a chair.

"I thought it would be fun to open it here and see what blessings it had in store for us," she explained, as she proceeded to open and unpack it.

"Blessings!" echoed Nan. "Well, I should say they were," she added, as, one after another, a big layer cake, a small fruit cake, some cakes prettily iced, bottles of choice olives, salted almonds and peanuts, jars of jelly and marmalade, fruit, and a big package of fresh a.s.sorted bonbons were drawn from the box.

"Oh, for pity's sake, girls, let's hurry and get at them," cried Laura.

"My mouth's fairly watering for them."

As she spoke, she drew Nan's spirit lamp from its shelf and soon had the water for cocoa boiling in a small saucepan.

"Why in the world," said Grace as she set the plates and cups and saucers on the table, "did we go and buy all these things? If we'd only known what that box was going to hold we wouldn't have needed half of them."

"No matter, the sandwiches and ice cream will come in well," said Laura.

"That is," she added, "if there's anything of the ice cream left. I put it outside the minute we got it here, but it's had a long time to wait."

"It won't have to wait much longer," exulted Bess, as the girls gathered around the table and the feast began.

"Hey! don't let Grace cut that fruit cake yet," said Nan, her mouth full of cream cheese sandwich. "There won't be a raisin left for the rest of us."

"If you eat many more sandwiches," laughed Grace, "you won't have room left for even a raisin." And she calmly proceeded not only to cut the cake, but to help herself to a very generous slice.

"Um-um--this is good," she said. "Fruit cake is my special weakness."

"Yes, and it's our duty to help you conquer that weakness," remarked Laura virtuously, as she drew the fruit cake over to her side of the table.

"Now where did I put that sugar bowl?" asked Bess, as she finished pouring her third cup of cocoa.

"Here it is," replied Rhoda, as she accommodatingly handed over a small gla.s.s bowl from which Bess helped herself to a generous double spoonful.

One swallow of her cocoa, and she began to sputter and gasp, and finally made a frantic grab for a tumbler of water.