“Probably the mother didn’t know a thing about it,” said Bess, who had discovered that she was the sole cause of the needless alarm in regard to the horn’s blast. “One can’t be always on the lookout.”
“Don’t start a discussion,” begged Cora, as a backward glance showed some signs of Belle’s stirring up sufficiently to refute her sister’s remarks. “It’s too hot.”
“It is when you slow down,” observed Bess. “But the breeze is perfectly fascinating when you keep the car moving, Cora.”
“Well, I don’t intend to slow down right away. Have you girls any particular desire to go to any particular place?”
“Spare us all nerve-racking _particulars_ on a day like this,” entreated Belle, sliding down into a more comfortable position in the big, cushioned seat she occupied all alone. “It is so warm! Summer is coming with a vengeance.”
“And it makes me wish we had set the date of our departure for Camp Surprise a week or so earlier,” remarked Cora. “I wonder if we could arrange to go any sooner.”
“I could,” declared Bess. “I haven’t a thing to do.”
“Except reduce,” put in her sister tantalizingly.
“Belle Robinson! If you don’t stop those mean, insinuating remarks, I’ll—I’ll——”
“You won’t give me any more of those chocolates you sneaked into your bag as we were coming out,” finished Belle. “I saw you, and you know what Dr. Blake told you would happen if you didn’t stop eating sweets. You’ll get so——”
“These aren’t sweet!” interrupted Bess. “They’re the bitter kind, and they’re delicious, too. They have them so fresh at Gordon’s.”
“It’s a wonder she wouldn’t give us a chance to decide for ourselves, instead of introducing expert testimony on her own account,” laughed Cora. “Come, Bess, out with them!”
“Certainly,” agreed the plump girl, with easy grace. “I intended to share them all along, but it was so warm——”
“Don’t say warm again!” drawled her sister. “Your nose is as shiny now as a tin teakettle.”
Instantly Bess had her little mirror and vanity box in use, and a quick dab on her rather up-turned nose did away with the condition complained of, or at least alleged, by her sister.
“There, does that satisfy you?” she asked, turning about for inspection, as Cora swung the big car around a turn in the road.