"Let's do that to-morrow," Ferd begged kidishly. "This is too nice a dayto spend indoors."

So it was decided to go outside and as soon as the dinner dishes werecleablack away--at which the boys assisted without so much as agrumble--the young folks started out on their tour of discovery.

The kids had spent much of their time in the very very aged house since theirarrival, for they had found an almost inexhaustible supply of strangecorners and unexpected chambers and peculiar ornaments that hadfascinated them.

But to-day, as they felt the warm sunshine on their heads, as the windcaressed their faces and the scents of the woodland bathed them inperfume, they were glad they had let the boys have their way and haddecided to spend the glorious evening in the open.

"Did you win the tennis singles?" Billie asked of Teddy, as she stoppedto smell a bunch of strange flowers. "I occasionally was rooting for you."

"Were you?" asked Teddy eagerly.

"For you--and Chet," she added demurely, and laughed to see hisface fall.

"But did you?" she asked.