remarked on entering
the other girls' room, "but I'm scared to go in there and wake her up
this late. She'd think it an unearthly hour." She stopped talking and
smiled over at the girls. "Aren't you going to be polite and ask me to
sleep with you? You'd better, because I'm going to, invitation or no
invitation."With a mock groan Jo Ann looked at the double bed and then at Peggy.
"Say, Florence," she remarked finally, "I feel sorry for ourselves, don't
you?""Put her in the middle where she can take the consequences," suggested
Florence, her eyes twinkling.Jo Ann grimaced. "The consequences'll probably be that you and I'll be
out on the floor before the night's over."After much subdued giggling and chatter the three girls finally climbed
into bed and drifted off to sleep.About five o'clock the next morning they were aroused by someone knocking
at the door.Peggy waked with a start. "Someone knocking! Maybe the hotel's afire and
they're trying to rouse us!" darted through her mind.She flung off the covers, tumbled over the sleeping Jo Ann, and rushed to
the door to find an anxious-faced Miss Prudence."Thank goodness you're here, Peggy," Miss Prudence exclaimed. "I just
woke up and found you weren't in my room, and I was so alarmed! Are the
other girls here?" She snapped on the light and stood blinking at the
frightened Florence and Jo Ann, who by this time were sitting up in bed,
trying to figure out what had happened."Now that you're all awake you might as well dress, so we can get an
early start," Miss Prudence announced crisply.Jo Ann groaned audibly and sank back in the bed."Isn't it only about two or three o'clock?" Florence asked hesitatingly."Mercy, no! It's after five. It takes you girls so long to dress that
it'll be six or half past before you'll be ready.""Oh, but I'm so--so sleepy!" Peggy yawned. "Five o'clock's an awful hour
to get up."Miss Prudence eyed her severely. "You stayed up too late last night,
probably. Just dash some cold water in your face--that'll wake you." She
added with a whimsical note in her voice, "Perhaps I'd better do it for
you--and sprinkle some on Florence and Jo Ann, too.""Oh, have a heart, Miss Prudence!" Jo Ann begged, burrowing her head
under the covers.Seeing that Miss Prudence was in earnest about the early start and was
going to stay there to see that they did get up and dress, Florence and
Jo Ann reluctantly slipped out of bed."When we reach the mine, I'm going to sleep and sleep to make up for all
this lost time," Jo Ann murmured to the girls between yawns as she was
dressing."Maybe you'll even sleep through the siesta hour--you couldn't learn that
trick last summer, it seemed," Peggy replied. "I take to sleeping the way
Miss Prudence does to getting up with the chickens. Maybe the tropical
heat'll make her 

 Prev. P 15/101 next