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.

When the porter stopped at the first room and asked which baggage he was to carry in, Miss Prudence pointed to her suitcase, then hesitated a half second.

Peggy grasped this opportunity to put in, "Jo says she's going to be your roommate this time."

Miss Prudence smiled over at Jo Ann. "Fine. Carlitos's room connects with ours; then you and Florence have the one next to his. All of you hurry and get cleaned up, now, so we can get something to eat right away. Then we'll come straight up and go to bed. We have to get an early start in the morning, you know."

The three girls exchanged swift glances but did not protest.

Once inside their room, however, Peggy groaned loudly to Florence, "Miss Prudence acts as if we were still in rompers. Putting us to bed as soon as we've eaten our suppers! What's the fun of coming to a new city if you can't see anything?"

By nine o'clock, still inwardly protesting but outwardly calm, the 

 Prev. P 3/101 next