Usually Mary Jane was very quiet, but the bands and flying colors and crowds of people must have excited her, for she suddenly forgot all about the long distance to the ground—just behind; she grabbed her mother’s hand and climbed up on the bench; she waved her crimson banner high over her head and shouted at the top of her small voice, "I’m for Harvard! I want Harvard to win!" And sure enough, Harvard did. *THE ADVENTURE BY THE LAGOON* "Do you think you two girls will be all right here while Hal and I sit over there and visit awhile?" asked Mrs. Merrill. It was the late afternoon of the game and the Merrills, with Hal, had driven in to Boston with some friends of Hal’s and now were sitting in the Commons trying to keep the promise to Mary Jane to let her ride all she wished in the swan boats. It seemed a hopeless promise to keep though, for no sooner had they taken one ride than Mary Jane was ready for another, and another and another. Finally Mrs. Merrill suggested that as she and Hal had many things to talk about, they might sit at the side of the lagoon and let the two girls ride by themselves; Alice was old enough to make such a plan perfectly safe and anyway there was no danger, for Mary Jane was big enough to look after herself on the boat. "Surely!" said Alice replying to her mother’s question, "you sit right over there and we’ll be safe as safe can be." "And if we run out of money for rides," added practical Mary Jane, "we’ll come and tell you." "I’ll save you the trouble," said Uncle Hal, "I’ll buy a bunch of tickets that you never can use up!" And much to Mary Jane’s delight, he went over to the window where the tickets were sold and bought fifty cents’ worth—ten whole rides—five for each girl. "Thank you ever so much, Uncle Hal," said Mary Jane gratefully, "and if you change your mind and want to ride, I’ll let you have one of my tickets," she promised as he handed her five all for herself. "Yes," added Alice, "and if mother wants to ride again, I’ll let her have one of mine." "Thanks awfully, ladies," said Hal laughing, "but I think sister and I will enjoy the talking every bit as much as you enjoy the riding, so everybody will be happy." Mary Jane thought she never, never, never had had such a blissful time! The sun, halfway down in the west, was just warm enough; a soft June breeze blew the lagoon into tiny ripples and made the air cool and comfortable after the warm day; flowers blooming on the bank filled the air with dainty fragrance and, best of all, there were those magic boats—and five tickets all her own. She and Alice picked out the front seat in the boat they thought the prettiest and there they sat. They didn’t even trouble to get off when one ride was over; they simply sat still while the two or three other passengers stepped off at the dock and two or three other passengers stepped on, and then off the boat went again on its slow, stately journey around the little lake.