Marjorie had planned no formal meeting for the day, but the conversation dwelt chiefly upon scout topics. She and Ethel and Doris took a solemn oath to start new troops in the Fall, and Daisy half promised to do the same. It was Marjorie’s dream that the great scout ideals, which the members of Pansy troop had learned to follow under the leadership of their captain, Mrs. Remington, should be passed on to other young girls. The group sat for a long time among those few pine trees, discussing their past and their future; but it was their future that interested them most. It seemed as if they all dreaded to stop talking and mount their horses to return to the ranch. Marjorie, however, felt responsible, and was watching the time. At four o’clock she made the move to go. “If we could only have one more reunion!” sighed Alice. “Marj, you always know how to manage things, won’t you see if you can do something?” “It would be great!” murmured Marjorie, without entertaining the slightest hope of such a possibility. When the girls were within a mile of the ranch, they met Kirk and John, coming towards them, on horseback. Little did they know that these two young men had come out for the very purpose of finding them. Both of them, however, had too much tact to tell this to the girls, for they knew that Marjorie would have insisted that they were perfectly able to take care of themselves. Instead, John made some excuse of learning how to ride, and turned back to the ranch with the party. He made no attempt to ride beside Marjorie; he was content to remember that tomorrow was to be his day. Although Marjorie would scarcely have confessed it to herself, she was looking forward to the following day with almost as much pleasure as John. When the time came, she met him on the porch as she had promised. Instead of the usual riding breeches and flannel shirt, she had substituted a simple summer dress, and the change made her seem even more attractive to the young man. They left the ranch immediately after lunch, walking slowly, and talking about their recent trip as they went. John seemed as sorry as Marjorie that the vacation was almost over. When they reached the water, Marjorie stepped into the canoe, intending to take her place in the bow; but John surprised her by asking her to sit in the middle. “You can rest for one afternoon, can’t you?” he pleaded. “It’s so hard to talk when I have only your back to look at!” Laughingly, Marjorie agreed, and seated herself upon a cushion on the bottom. She, too, wanted to have a confidential little chat. It was not until they had gone for some distance, away from the shallow water, that John plunged into the subject in which he was so interested. He began by telling about his mother’s invitation.