“It’s a great place,” said Ellery, with enthusiasm. “I believe I will try tennis this morning,” he added, somewhat irrelevantly, although in justice to him it should be said that his eyes had rested on Cherry’s exuberant beauty before he said it. “I’m a good deal of a duffer at it. I imagine you play a strong game, Miss Paxton. Will you be my partner in a four-handed game?” “D_ee_-lighted,” said Cherry, showing her pretty teeth. “The writing of the epic is indefinitely postponed,” said Ethel. “You are all alike, you men.” “Wait till next winter, Mrs. Vernon,” said Ellery. “I’m going to make myself a storehouse of energy and I dare say Vernon’s doing the same thing.” “Well, you’ll need some of it this morning,” said I. “At tennis Mrs. Vernon and I are the strongest up here.” He looked doubtful. “It’s a fact—we are introducing the game.” “Mr. Sibthorp and I expect to make a pretty strong team,” said Cherry. Ethel’s eyes sought mine. And found them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XXV A CONTINUOUS WEEK END. ETHEL was reading a letter, Ellery and Cherry having brought the mail up from the post-office. Ellery had now been at Clover Lodge a fortnight and during that time we had fished (for bull heads this time), had gone on long tramps, had read to each other, and had played many a game of tennis, and while we could not say that Ellery was in a fair way to propose to Cherry, he was hard hit. The glamour of the place had appealed to him and neither he nor Cherry had any intention of going back until we went in September. Minerva had shown signs of homesickness, and one day we had let her and James go to Springfield to spend the day, and after her return she had said, “City ain’t what it was,” which we had taken to be a most encouraging sign. Nearly three months out of New York and still happy. Who would have predicted it? Ethel dropped the letter in her lap and said, “What are we going to do, Philip? This letter is from Madge Warden, and she and Tom are going to a place in Vermont to try it on the recommendation of a friend, and Madge asks if it would be convenient to stop off on the way up instead of on the way back. She says that if we could find a shack for them here, Tom wouldn’t care to go to Vermont.” “Well, of course, have ’em come.” “Yes, but she wants to come this Friday for over Sunday, and we’ve invited the Benedicts for over Sunday.” I thought a minute.