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Iowa, “but I can’t say any of us are actually sailors.”
    “I guess we’ve been too busy riding and fixing up our clubhouse and other things to think about boats,” added Honey, “but it must be loads of fun.”
    “Did you say you sailed a Lightning?” broke in Mart. “Last Fourth of July there was a big regatta at Nyack, right across the Hudson from us. I read about it in the paper. I could see all the boats from the hill back of our house.”
    “I know. That was another fleet. But we’ll have a regatta, too, later in the summer. Gee, you should be here. It’s great!” exclaimed Peter, his eyes straying toward the nearby bay. “I was going sailing this morning, but I’ve got to get the mess from the storm cleaned up first. I was just starting when I heard you and decided to investigate.”
    “We were going to do some cleaning up here, too, but this tree has us licked,” said Brian, giving the fallen trunk a hard kick.
    “I should think so, if that’s all you have to work with,” said Peter, looking at the pruning saw that Honey was still holding. “What you need is a power saw. I’ll get ours.” He was off, over the wall, like a deer.
    “Gosh, what a great guy!” said Jim.
    “And did you notice what gorgeous eyes he has?” sighed Diana.
    “I wouldn’t say there was anything so special about his eyes,” said Mart. “You females always flip for someone just because he has broad shoulders or gorgeous eyes or something. Don’t you ever think about brains or character or anything?”
    “When it comes to brains and character, we always have you, dear brother,” Trixie flung back at him, “so allow us our little pleasures.” Becoming serious again, with Peter out of earshot, she continued, “Say, you don’t suppose, since he lives on the island, he might be able to help us with the letter, do you?”
    “Oh, we weren’t going to tell anyone about that,” cautioned Mart. “For gosh sakes, Trix, don’t always be so impulsive.”
    “I know, Mart,” said Jim, jumping to Trixie’s defense, “but he certainly looks like a dependable character if I ever saw one.”
    Stung by her brother’s criticism, Trixie sat down on the tree trunk, cupping her chin in her hands. After a short pause, she said, “I suppose Mart’s right. I know you can’t always trust first impressions. Remember what we thought of Dan when we first met him? We were sure he was a crook, because he wore a black jacket and acted sort of antisocial. So it’s okay with me to wait until we know Peter better.”
    “Good girl,” said Mart, giving her a pat on the shoulder.
    “All those in favor of waiting signify by the usual sign,” said Jim, rapping on the tree, with a stone for a gavel. Everyone agreed.
    Peter was soon back, and after he had handed the saw over the wall to Jim, he himself jumped over. “Now, this is more like it,” he said as he got a firm foothold, adjusted the choke, and pulled the starter cord.
    The saw made short work of the tree. Under Peter’s direction, the boys took turns using it but manfully insisted that it was too heavy for the girls to manipulate. They had to content themselves with piling the big pieces of wood near the wall, to be split later on, and with taking the smaller ones to the rear of the house, where the fireplace logs were stored.
    “Honestly,” said Trixie, throwing down an armful of wood with unnecessary vigor, “boys think they know everything.”
    “Well, it doesn’t hurt to let them think they do sometimes,” replied Diana with a knowing smile.

The Letter ● 5

    IT WAS WELL past the usual lunchtime when the lawn was finally cleared, but Honey had asked the cook to make a lot of sandwiches so they could eat whenever they got hungry. She invited Peter to stay for lunch, and he telephoned his mother to say that he wouldn’t be home until later.
    As they were eating, he said, “How about all of you coming over to my house? It’s sort of interesting because it’s