Honor hesitated a moment. The situation was amusing, and Victoria’s mirth was contagious, but she felt very angry. Then seeing that Katherine was looking troubled, she decided that she too had better try to laugh it off. After all, it was very funny. And presently they were all laughing so uproariously, that B. Lafferty again opened the door and peeped in at them, wondering what amusing article had come by express. Suddenly, however, Katherine became sober. [Picture: “The girls and Peter could see Katherine, who sat in the hall below”] “You will see,” she said, “that after all I was wise to get it. When the money begins to pour in from it, you will see what a brilliant idea it was.” “I can’t imagine how it is going to pour in, unless you are going to manufacture bank notes with it,” remarked Honor; “but we will see.” They went back to their forgotten dinner, and after it was finished, they proceeded to arrange the schoolroom. It was again Saturday, and school was to open the following Monday. Katherine slipped away before long, her absence being at first unnoticed by the others. Presently Peter also disappeared from the room, but he soon returned. “If you want to see something rich,” said he, “come look over the banisters.” As has been said, the stairway ascended from the centre of the large square hall. It was very broad, and a gallery ran around the second story, upon which opened the doors of the bedrooms. By leaning over the railing which guarded this gallery, the girls and Peter could see Katherine, who sat in the hall below. She was at work upon the typewriter, the “clickety-click” of the keys coming at long intervals, while she studied the book of instructions. “The lightning writer!” whispered Peter. “Don’t you wish you could write with a pen as fast as that?” “Hush!” said Victoria; “don’t let her hear you. But, oh, Honor, we shall have to work extra hard to make up for Katherine’s extravagance! What _shall_ we do with her?” CHAPTER V. PETER SEEKS INFORMATION. “PETER is in one of his moods. He won’t come.” So announced Sophy, returning from the barn for the third time one day towards the end of the following week. “But we want him, Sophy. Did you tell him so?” asked Honor. “That is just the reason he won’t come. When I said, ‘They want you,’ he said, ‘Let ’em want. I’ve got something else to do than be tied to Honor’s apron strings.’ What did he mean, Honor? You hardly ever wear an apron, and I never saw you tie Peter.” Katherine, who was also present, laughed, as she invariably did when Sophy made a remark of this kind. “You are the most literal young one I ever saw,” said she. “Did you really suppose, now, that—” “Never mind!” interposed Honor, who saw that Sophy, always easily moved to tears by Katherine’s criticisms, looked ready to cry. “He means by that that he doesn’t want to do things for us. Very disobliging of him, I think. What is he doing?”