Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Hotels -- Fiction; Inheritance and succession -- Fiction; Love stories; Siblings -- Fiction
"Oh, come," said Mary, "we must advertise in the American papers, too. I
think we should spend a good many thousand dollars. And of course we
must do away with the big table in the dining-house and substitute
little tables. I propose that we ransack the place for photographs, and
that Maud try her hand at composing full-page ads. And, Arthur, please
don't forget the sketch plan of the buildings--we'll have to make quite
a lot of alterations."
"I've thought of something," said Maud. "Just a line. Part of the ad, of
course, mentions prices. Now I think if we say prices from so and so
up--it looks cheap and commonplace. At the bottom of the ad, then, after
we've described all the domestic comforts of The Camp and its sporting
opportunities, let's see if we can't catch the _clientèle_ we are after
with this:
"'PRICES RATHER HIGH.'"
"Maud," said Mary, after swift thought, "your mind is as clear as a gem.
Just think how that line would have appealed to papa if he'd been
looking into summer or winter resorts. Make a note of it-- What are you
two whispering about?"
Lee and Gay looked up guiltily. They had not only been whispering but
giggling. They said: "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
But presently they put on sweaters and rowed off in a guide boat, so
that they might converse without fear of being observed.
"Sure you've got it?" asked Lee.
"Umm," said Gay, "sure."
They giggled.
"And you think we're not just plain conceited?"
"My dear Lee," said Gay, "Mary, Maud, and Eve are famous for their faces
and their figgers--have been for years, poor old things. Well, in my
candid opinion, you and Phyllis are better-looking in every way. I look
at you two from the cool standpoint of a stranger, and I tell you that
you are incomparably good-looking."
Lee laughed with mischievous delight.
"And you look so exactly like us," she said, "that strangers can't tell
us apart."
"For myself," said Gay demurely, "I claim nothing. Absolutely nothing.
But you and Pill are certainly as beautiful as you are young."
"For the sake of argument, then," said Lee, "let's admit that we six
sisters considered as a collection are somewhat alluring to the eye.
Well--when the mail goes with the ads Maud is making up, we'll go with
it, and make such changes in the choice of photographs as we see fit."
"That won't do," said Gay. "There will be proofs to correct."
"Then we'll wait till the proofs are corrected and sent off."
"Yes. That will be the way. It would be a pity for the whole scheme to
fall through for lack of brains. I suppose the others would never
agree?"
"The girls _might_," said Lee, "but Arthur never. He would rise up like
a lion. You know, deep down in his heart he's a frightful stickler for
the proprieties."
"We shall get ourselves into trouble."
"It will not be the first or the last time. And besides, we can escape
to the woods if necessary, like Bessie Belle and Mary Grey."
"Who were they?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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