“And guess whom I met at a dance at Cape May?” he wrote. “John Hadley! With the prettiest little girl you ever saw! He didn’t notice me at first, he seemed so absorbed in her. “I kidded him about not grieving much, and you ought to have seen him blush. Just the same I’m glad he has pluck enough to find somebody else, for you don’t always give him a square deal. Not only about the vacation, but your senior dance, and a lot of little things. It would serve you right if you lost him. You can play with a serious chap like him once too often!” “Play with him!” repeated Marjorie, to herself. Did it seem to others that that was what she had been doing? She had never intended to do so. A sudden wave of loneliness spread over her; she felt that if she lost John’s regard, she would be deprived of one of her truest friends. She hoped Jack had attached more importance to the simple episode than it deserved; and yet John had stopped writing to her. Was he so much interested in this new girl that he had forgotten all about her? If that were the case, she decided she would not think any more about him. She was having a wonderful time on the ranch, living this out-door life and learning to be a more accomplished horsewoman. What more could any girl want? And so she abandoned her idea of writing to John and gave her whole-hearted attention to the life she was living. To her great joy, a pack trip had been planned for the following day, a pack trip that would last five whole days, and take them up into the mountains. At last the scouts were to have a taste of real Western out-door life; they would ride all day long, make camp in the afternoon, and sleep under the stars at night. To most of the girls, who were at the age when every new experience brings delight, the prospect was thrilling. From the time when the trip was announced until the hour of starting, they talked of little else. “We aren’t allowed to take very much along with us, are we?” asked Alice, when the girls were collecting their necessary articles and wrapping them in their blankets and ponchos. “No, for the poor pack-horses have plenty to carry as it is,” replied Marjorie. “Just think of the good time we are going to have, while they, poor things, have to do all the hard work!” “I wonder how many pack-horses they will take,” remarked Alice. “There will be six, Bob said,” answered Marjorie. “He is to be horse-wrangler, and Mr. Hilton and Art are going to help with the packing and putting up tents.” “The Academy boys aren’t going, are they?” said Mae. “No,” replied Marjorie again, for she had taken pains to find out all about the trip. “They want to save money, and they have been on some of the trips before we arrived. And the Judson girls aren’t going either.” “Well, one thing good, we’re going to sleep in tents,” said Mae. “I made sure of that before I consented to go.”