"The exercise will do you good. We must get in--training, I believe the
proper word is--in training for our hike."
"Hike?" queried Betty.
"Suffragist lingo for walk," explained Mollie. "Come on."
The Argono river ran but a short distance from Mollie's home, and soon
the four girls were in an old-fashioned, but safely constructed, barge,
half drifting and half rowing down the picturesque stream.
The afternoon sun was waning behind a bank of clouds, screened from the
girls by a fringe of trees. And as they floated on they talked at
intervals of Amy's secret, and of the coming fun they expected to have.
"Let's get farther out in the middle," suggested Betty, when they came to
a wide part of the river. "It's more pleasant there, and the air is
fresher. It is very warm."
"Yes, I think we will have another storm," agreed Grace. "If it rains now
it isn't so likely to when we start."
She was pulling on one pair of oars and Mollie on a second, the others
relieving them occasionally. Soon the boat was in the middle of the
stream. They had gone on for perhaps half a mile, when Betty, who was
sitting comfortably in the stern, toying with the rudder ropes, uttered
an exclamation.
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