“Oh, I couldn’t have had anything in the world I wanted more than this!” she cried to her uncle.  “It is just great!”

“And you think you girls will go for a cruise?”

“I am sure we will, and as soon as we can.  It will be the very thing for the hot summer.”

“Wouldn’t Will just love this?” sighed Grace.

“Perhaps Betty will invite him and Allen Washburn and Percy Falconer to come along on a trip or two,” said Mollie, with a wink at her chums as she mentioned Percy’s name.  The latter was a foppish young man about town, who tried to be friendly with Betty; but she would have none of him.

“Never Percy!” she declared.  “I’ll ask Will, of course, and Frank Haley, but——­ "

“Not Allen?” inquired Amy, mischievously, for it was no great secret that Betty really liked Allen, a young law student, and that he was rather attentive to her.

“Which way shall I steer to pass that boat, Uncle?” asked Betty, to change a subject that was getting too personal.

“Port,” he answered briefly.

“And that is——­” she hesitated.

“The left,” he answered quickly.  “It’s easy if you think that the letter L comes before the letter P and that L is the beginning of left.  Port means left, always.”

“I’m sure it’s easy to say left and right,” commented Grace, who was eating a chocolate.

“Hum!” exclaimed the old captain, disapprovingly.

The Gem proved worthy of her name.  The girls made a little trip about the river, and then Captain Marlin, on learning that there was a boat house and dock on the property of Mollie’s mother, steered the craft there, where it would be tied up until the girls started on their cruise.

And that they would cruise was fully decided on in the next few days.  Now that the great surprise was known, plans were made to spend some time on the lake and river in the new craft.

The wonder and delight of it grew.  Each day the girls discovered something different about Betty’s boat.  It was most complete, and practical.  The boys were in transports over it, and when Will and his chum Frank Haley were allowed to steer they could not talk enough about it.

Preparations for the cruise went on apace.  Captain Marlin oversaw them at odd times, for he was in business, and made trips between New York and Deepdale.

In the meanwhile Grace fully recovered from the runaway accident.  Not so poor Dodo, however, and it was feared that the little girl would have to be operated on.

“When?” asked Betty, thinking that this would spoil Mollie’s trip.

“Oh, not for some time,” was the answer.  “They are going to try everything else first.”

Some of the mothers arranged to go along on part of the cruises, and other married ladies volunteered for the remaining days, so the girls would be properly chaperoned.  Then began the final preparations.

“And if you see anything of Prince on your wanderings, don’t fail to catch him,” begged Will, a few nights before the day set for the start.