"Indeed we wouldn't, Auntie Gibbs! You are perfectly right," assented Phil, with a triumphant smile at Kit.
Bet was silent. She watched Phil with a heavy heart. How could he pretend innocence like that?
Just then the jingle of the telephone brought the nonsense to an end. Bet answered it.
"Who? What? Oh Daddy! Daddy! Are you so near, really? --Company? Of course, the girls are here and Bob and Phil. --Oh thank you, Daddy, you're a dear. Goodbye!"
Bet left the phone and sank into the depths of a roomy chair. "Dad will be here in a few hours. He telephoned from Albany. --Oh, how glad I am that we found the queen's fan!"
"Come on girls, let's go right away. Bet will want her father to herself and he won't want a lot of hoodlums around!" exclaimed Bob.
"We like that, Bob Evans! In the first place we are all friends of Colonel Baxter and chums of his daughter, Bet. Therefore we are not hoodlums!" exclaimed Kit Patten.
"And Dad says to keep you here to celebrate his return. The boys too. He's bringing a business friend, but that need not bother us."
After Bet's announcement, Auntie Gibbs flew to the kitchen and was already at work with mixing bowl and measuring cups. She was quite in her element at the prospect of company, and she took command like a general. Even the boys were put to work. One of the lights in the chandelier was not working, and Bob and Phil took off their coats, mounted a ladder and repaired the damage.
The girls were sent up stairs, to dust and air and arrange the guest chamber.
Uncle Nat was lying down with a headache. "Isn't he the most provoking man," declared the old lady. "I said this morning that like as not I'd need him to-day when he's laid up."
"Oh let him rest, Auntie Gibbs," said Bob. "Phil and I will take his place. We'll be sort of Uncle Nat twins!"
And the old lady commanded them energetically. "Here Phil, you take these bones to Smiley Jim and let him out! That poor dog has been neglected badly. The girls have been so busy lately!"
"Yes, busy and worried like the rest of us. Isn't it great that they found the fan? It means a lot to me, for I had it last. And then Amos Longworth has been dogging my steps like a stage detective. I couldn't move without being watched."