conspired together and planned a general elopement.

At the foot of the tennis lawn at the bottom of the garden ran the
silver Thames, and one night, after the four girls had been safely
conducted from a dormitory window to _terra firma_, they all crept
softly down to the bank of the river, where a small boat belonging to
the Colonel was moored. With this they proposed to cross to the opposite
side and make their way to a lane where conveyances were waiting to
carry them in their flight. Alas! here at the water's brink their
difficulties already began.

The young men were so extremely jealous that not one of them would allow
his prospective bride to remain at any time in the company of another
man, or men, unless he himself were present also. Now, the boat would
only hold two persons, though it could, of course, be rowed by one, and
it seemed impossible that the four couples would ever get across. But
midway in the stream was a small island, and this seemed to present a
way out of the difficulty, because a person or persons could be left
there while the boat was rowed back or to the opposite shore. If they
had been prepared for their difficulty they could have easily worked out
a solution to the little poser at any other time. But they were now so
hurried and excited in their flight that the confusion they soon got
into was exceedingly amusing--or would have been to any one except
themselves.

As a consequence they took twice as long and crossed the river twice as
often as was really necessary. Meanwhile, the Colonel, who was a very
light sleeper, thought he heard a splash of oars. He quickly raised the
alarm among his household, and the young ladies were found to be
missing. Somebody was sent to the police-station, and a number of