A goodly company started with the Tillbury chums from the Freeling
station; but at each junction there were further separations until,
when the time came for the porter to make up the berths, there were
only Nan, Bess and Rhoda of all their crowd in the Pullman car.
Even Grace and Walter had changed for a more direct route to
Chicago.

They awoke in the morning to find their coach sidetracked at
Tillbury and everybody hurrying to get into the washrooms. Nan
could scarcely wait to tidy herself and properly dress, for there
was Papa Sherwood in a great, new, beautiful touring car--one of
those, in fact, that he kept for demonstration purposes.

Nan dragged Rhoda with her, while Bess ran merrily to meet what she
called "a whole nest of Harley larks" in another car on the other
side of the station. It had been determined that Rhoda should go
home with Nan.

"Here she is, Papa Sherwood!" cried Nan, leaping into the front of
the big car to "get a strangle hold" around her father's neck.
"This is our girl from Rose Ranch, Rhoda Hammond. Isn't she nice?"

"I--I can't see her, Nan," said her father. "Whew! let me get my
breath and my eyesight back."

Then he welcomed Rhoda, and both girls got into the tonneau to ride
to the Sherwood cottage. "Such richness!" Nan sighed.

The little cottage in amity looked just as cozy and homelike as
ever. Nothing had been changed there save that the house had been