"We're coming Auntie Gibbs," cried the girl. And a few minutes later the two best chums in the world, danced down the long stairway to the breakfast room, arm in arm, like carefree children.
Colonel Baxter was not very sure that they would ever be able to prove who stole the fan. He confided that much to Bet at lunch time, when he returned from Hermit's Hut.
The girl looked relieved. "I almost wish you wouldn't. Let's drop it. Did you get Shirley's camera, Dad? Oh I do hope she got a wild animal picture!"
"Tell Shirley that the trap was sprung, and the flash powder had gone off, and it is almost certain to have been a deer. Ask her to come to the shop right after school and I'll bring the camera down."
"Won't she be happy!" Bet squealed with delight.
The school room clock had never ticked off its minutes so slowly as it did that afternoon; each minute seemed like an hour to the excited girls whose minds were centered on Shirley's luck. Deer got all mixed up with their history lessons and Miss Elder cast reproving glances more than once at the Merriweather Girls who were finding it so hard to settle to work.
In her heart she didn't blame them. Vacation was such a glorious time for fun and she knew the girls' capacity for getting the most joy out of everything in life.
She thought: "The darlings! And I have to be the one to order them back to their books!"
At five minutes to three, Bet bent her head over her book, declaring that she would not look at the clock again until it was three. Then, when she was certain that the minute hand must be pointing to twelve, she looked up and gave a gasp. Only one minute had gone by! How the time dragged!
But at last the welcome sound of dismissal bell did come and the girls were free. They ran all the way to the shop.
"It's a good thing I carry my key with me, or we would have lost about ten minutes," said Shirley and she unlocked the door and let the girls in.
Shirley made a dive toward the dark room.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Joy.
"I'll get everything ready in here to develop the plate; just as soon as Colonel Baxter comes."
At exactly quarter past three Bet's father arrived, bearing Shirley's camera as if it were the queen's fan itself.