“Bill has to go away about six,” said Mona, doubtfully.

“Well, make ’em come at two, then.  The game won’t take long, once we get started.  Now, I’ll select four players.  Mona will be one, and Daisy Dow, Jim Kenerley and I will be the others.”

Mona was already at the telephone, and the other selected players drew around Cromer to learn what they were to do.

“It’s going to be the greatest fun ever,” he declared.  “If we can’t get red ribbon, we’ll take twine.  Guess it’ll be better, anyhow.  Mona, will you send a slave to the general store to buy a lot of balls of twine?”

“I’ll attend to it,” said Patty, “Mona’s telephoning.”

When Patty returned from this errand, the others were all out on the west lawn.  Farnsworth and Jim Kenerley were measuring off spaces, and a gardener was driving in pegs.

When the twine arrived, it was stretched on these pegs, until the whole lawn was diagrammed like a parcheesi board.  There were the four squares in the corners, representing “Homes,” there was a large square in the centre, and the paths were marked into regular rectangles with a “Safety Spot” in every fifth space.

So carefully was the measuring done that at a short distance it looked exactly like a parcheesi board, except the colouring.

“Now,” said Cromer, when the ground was ready, “each of you four ‘Players’ must fix up your corner ‘Homes’ with a different colour.”

So Daisy chose pink, and Mona blue, and Mr. Kenerley yellow, and Laurence Cromer green.

Rugs of appropriate colours were brought from the house for these “Homes,” and a few wicker chairs or campstools were placed in them.  Then the spirit of emulation was roused, and the “Players” sought for little tables, vases of flowers, or potted palms to decorate their “Homes.”

Mrs. Kenerley helped her husband, and Patty assisted Cromer, with their feminine tastes and ideas, and Patty prevailed on the head gardener to cut his choicest flowers to decorate the game.

“You see,” Laurence said, “we could get this thing up beautifully, with canopies and flags of the four colours, and turkey red strips down these paths and all that.  But this will do for a makeshift game.”

The central square was prettily arranged with a set of furniture brought from a veranda, a tea table, a stand of flowers, and a flagpole and flag.

Comfortable seats were arranged here for Mrs. Parsons, and any one else who was merely a spectator of the game.  Under Cromer’s directions, the girls made sixteen caps and sashes of cheesecloth, four of each colour.

The guests whom Mona invited all came, and soon after two o’clock the game began.  The four “Players,” each decorated with his or her own colour, went to their respective homes, and from there called out the names of those whom they wished for “Counters.”  Mona called first, and promptly chose Patty.