caroused around not a little.

Betty turned to the youth with a decided little shake of her head,
though her eyes were smiling.

"I think we shall have to go right back," she said. "It looks as
though it were going to rain. Thank you just as much," and she began
to ease her motor boat gently away from the other craft,

"Oh, I say," Percy cried, disappointedly and a little angrily, for out
of the corner of his eye he could see that his friend was laughing at
him, "we would only keep you for a moment or two. You needn't be
afraid of us. We won't bite, you know."

"We don't know you well enough to be sure even of that," said Mollie,
coming suddenly and flippantly into the conversation.

But Percy took not the slightest notice of her and, as Betty was
slowly but surely widening the distance between the Gem and his boat,
he leaned forward eagerly.

"Betty, let me see you some time. How about to-morrow night?"

And because Betty was always kind to every one and was sorry for
Mollie's flippant speech, she said, quite unexpectedly, even to
herself, "All right."

Then she turned the Gem around and started for home, conscious that
her chums were gazing at her in speechless amazement.