By this time they had reached the lodge and were greeted noisily by the
others, who had already seated themselves on the porch as though they
intended to stay all day.

"Hello," called Frank. His handsome face, though somewhat thinner than the
girls remembered, was better looking than ever and he had developed a
trick of flinging the hair back from his forehead that the girls thought
immensely attractive.

Roy, who had seated himself on the railing of the porch and was swinging
his feet, looked more unchanged than either of the boys, though the girls
were soon to find out that he had changed the most.

Will, who had settled Amy in a chair and was sitting cross-legged on the
floor at her feet, was gazing up at the girl with his heart in his eyes.
As for Amy--well, the girls had never known she could look so radiant.

"Have a seat," invited Roy, rising lazily to the dignity of his six feet
as Betty and Grace came up on the porch. "It would seem like old times to
see you girls perched on the railing."

"I'll have you know, sir," said Betty very demurely, as she pulled Grace
down beside her on the top step of the porch, "that we have quite grown up
since you have been away. We will sit here where we can get a good view of
you all."

"And we want to hear about everything you have done over there," broke in
Amy eagerly. "Please, everything--right from the beginning."

The boys fidgeted, looked dismayed, and Roy burst forth in protest.