You ought to hear them talk! But I haven’t time to tell you here. We’ve got to get busy, and we’ve got to do it on the q.t. If they once suspect we’re onto them, our goose is cooked, and no mistake!”

“I suppose so,” said Jeremy dejectedly. “With all that outfit against us we sure won’t have very smooth sailing. Say, Jen, what if I hunt up Uncle Blake—”

“No!” said Jennifer sharply. “Uncle Blake’s all right in his place, but he can’t do a thing. Not if those aunts get started. You let me manage, Jerry. I’ve got a plan, only you’ve got to go the whole show or I won’t count you in.”

“Aw! Whaddaya mean, Jen? I’m with ya, of course. I’m the man of the house, only they won’t think so. If I was only a few years older I’d make ’em all stand around and tell ’em ta get out of our house and let us alone.”

They were coming toward the house now and the voices of the cook and waitress could be heard in animated discussion.

“You’d better turn off here, Jerry,” whispered his sister. “Go around the other side of the house and slide up to your room by way of the balcony. Get a pencil and paper and all the money you have, and then after a minute or two, you go up to the old playroom and wait there till I come. But don’t let anybody see you go!”

“Okay,” said Jeremy, watching her keenly and then turning off briskly as he was bidden. His sister fairly flew across the grass and entered the shelter of the tall hedge around the playground.

She went first to the hammock and whispered to Hazel. “Hazel, take your book and slip up the back stairs to the playroom, but don’t let one of the aunts see you or know where you are going. If they come around, just slip into your own room and wait there till they are gone. Hurry! And don’t tell anyone I told you to go. I’ll be up in a minute or two.”

“Okay.”

Hazel rose slowly, apathetically, from her hammock, her eyes still on her book, and went dawdling down across the grass, reading as she walked. The story was so absorbing that she hadn’t noticed the suppressed earnestness in Jennifer’s voice. She thought it was only some bid to get dressed for dinner or to go somewhere, and she was much more interested in her story than in going anywhere. Probably to visit some old relative or something, she thought contemptuously as she sauntered languidly along.

Jennifer went over to the tennis court and signaled her young brother Tryon, and of course Heather promptly came over to the conference also.

“I want to see you two up in the playroom in about five minutes,” she said in a low tone, casting a swift look toward the house. “You don’t want anybody to know anything about it either, see? Just play on here for another game or two, and then act as if you were tired and walk slowly toward the house. Don’t come together, either. Go around the other side the house so the servants won’t see you, and go up the back stairs. Go one of you at a time! Heather, you go first, and Tryon, you go hang around the garage a minute or two. Not too long, and then slip up quietly. Do you understand?”

“What’s doing, Jen?” asked the boy.

“Never mind. I’ll tell you all together. Don’t for anything tell anybody, not even the servants, that I told you to come upstairs.