Peggy smiled to herself as her thoughts wandered around to the New England spinster aunt who had come down by train with Carlitos to Mississippi and was accompanying them the rest of the way to Mexico. Miss Prudence's never-ceasing astonishment at having a half-grown nephew who was just learning to speak English was a source of amusement to her and Florence and Jo Ann.
Just then Carlitos broke into an excited exclamation: "We come to big city! See--big high houses!"
"Fine!" Jo Ann ejaculated. "That must be Houston. We've made much better time than I thought. We'll be there by seven o'clock."
With a broad smile Peggy remarked low-voiced to Jo Ann, "Don't forget that you drew Miss Prudence for your roommate tonight. I heard her say she always rises at five-thirty, so I see where you'll have to get up with the chickens."
"If I have to get up at that ghastly hour, I'll wake you and Florence, too. It'll be specially good for you to get up early. As Miss Prudence said last night, 'Remember, the early bird catches the worm'!"
Peggy made a funny little grimace. "But I don't want to catch worms--I don't like 'em."
"You'll have to acquire a taste for them then," Jo Ann retorted between giggles. A moment later she added, "We really ought to get an early start tomorrow morning, sure enough, since we may go by way of Brownsville."
On reaching the city a half hour later, they drove straight to one of the larger hotels.
"I just adore going into strange hotels," remarked Peggy, starting to get out of the car.
Miss Prudence turned in time to see her rising and said quickly, "You girls wait here while I go in and look around. One can't be too particular about the kind of hotel one chooses, even to stay for a few hours."
Disappointed, Peggy dropped back into her seat.
"Never mind, Peg, when we get to Mexico she'll let Florence and us take the lead, since she's never been there before."
In a few minutes the girls saw Miss Prudence returning, followed closely by a porter.
"Come on," she called out briskly to them. "I've registered for us all."
She hurried them on inside the hotel and into the elevator so rapidly that Peggy declared afterwards that she wouldn't have known she was in a hotel if she hadn't seen a bellboy.
