Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/225

Rh had paid little attention to it. It was not her custom to read serious books in the summer, and she objected  strongly to having suggestions made for summer work.

What Miss Crawdon said, therefore, had gone in one ear, and out the other. But now, when Nora reminded her of it, it appeared to her a more attractive suggestion,  and she agreed with Nora that it would be altogether  worth while to keep a list of the books she was reading,  and to select before October the one that seemed best  worth giving an account of.

But the reading class, pleasant though it was, by no means absorbed the girls during these pleasant July days. There were no more bicycle trips, to be sure, as the weather was too sultry for that kind of thing. Yet many a long drive did the four friends have with Thomas and  the quiet horses. It had become a fixed habit for Brenda to call for Amy to go with them on these excursion  drives, and she and Nora thought it no discomfort to  share the back seat of the carryall with their new friend,  while Julia occupied the front seat with Thomas. The North Shore was always revealing new beauties to Julia,  for it was her first summer there, and she could never  get over her surprise that so near the sea there should  be woods that were so beautiful, and roads along which  the loveliest wild flowers were to be found. When they could do no better, they would come home laden with  ox-eye daisies, with which to fill the vases in the dining-room, or with yellow tiger lilies, or with other blossoms  whose hiding-place was known to Amy.