“Yes, do!” cried Marjorie, who was hopping up and down on one foot in her excitement.  “Will it take you long to dress?”

“No, indeed; I’ll be down in a jiffy.  Just you wait a minute.”

It might have been more than a minute, but it wasn’t much more, when the girls heard a rustling above them, and looked up to see Molly, fully dressed, climbing out of the window.

“Oh, Molly, you’ll break your neck!” cried Kitty, for Molly was already descending by a rose trellis that was amply strong enough for a climbing rose, but which swayed and wabbled frightfully tinder the weight of a climbing girl.

However, Molly didn’t weigh very much, and she had the scrambling ability of a cat, so in a few seconds she was down on the ground, and embracing the two Maynard girls both at once.

“You’re perfect ducks to come over here so early!  How did you get away?”

“Slid out the back door,” said Marjorie; “isn’t it larky to be around so early in the morning?”

“Perfectly fine!  How long are you girls going to stay?”

“Not quite a week, I think,” said Kitty, and Marjorie added, “So we want to cram all the fun we can into these few days, and so we thought we’d begin early.”

“All right,” said Molly, taking her literally, “let’s begin right now.”

“Oh, we can’t do anything now,” said Marjorie, “that is, nothing in p’ticular.”

“Pooh! yes, we can!  It’s only about half-past five, and we don’t have breakfast till eight, do you?”

“Yes, Grandma has it at eight,” said Marjorie, “but, gracious, I’ll be starved to death by that time!  I’m so hungry now I don’t know what to do!”

“I’ll tell you what,” began Kitty, and upon her face there dawned that rapt expression, which always appeared when she was about to propose something ingenious.

“What?” cried Midget and Molly, both at once.

“Why,” said Kitty, impressed with the greatness of her own idea, “let’s have a picnic!”

“Picnic!” cried Marjorie, “before breakfast!  At half-past five in the morning!  Kit, you’re crazy!”

“No, I’m not crazy,” said Kitty, seriously, and Molly broke in, “Of course she isn’t!  It’s a grand idea!”

“But you can’t have a picnic without things to eat,” objected Marjorie.

“We’ll have things to eat,” declared Kitty, calmly.

“Where’ll you get ’em?”

“Kitchen.”

“Kit, you’re a genius!  Prob’ly Eliza’s pantry is just chock-a-block with good things!  And as I know they were made for us, we may as well eat some now.”

Then Molly had an inspiration.  “I’ll tell you what,” she cried, “let’s go on the river! in the boat!”

CHAPTER VIII

AN EXCITING PICNIC

Molly’s suggestion was so dazzling that Midget and Kitty were struck dumb for a moment.  Then Marjorie said, “No, Grandma won’t let us girls go on the river alone, and Carter isn’t up yet.”