long walk on the beach, looking for choice shells), so the girls wanted to go to bed an hour before the usual time.
"Wait till the clock strikes, Nellie," sang Dorothy, as they went upstairs, and, of course, no one but Nan knew what she meant.
Two hours after this the house was all quiet, when suddenly, there was the buzz of an alarm clock.
"What was that?" asked Mrs. Minturn, coming out in the hall.
"An alarm clock," called Nellie, in whose room the disturbance was. "I found it under my pillow," she added innocently, never suspecting that Dorothy had put it there purposely.
By and by everything was quiet again, when another gong went off.
"Well, I declare!" said Mrs. Minturn. "I do believe Dorothy has been up to some pranks."
"Ding—a-ling—a-long—a-ling!" went the clock, and Nellie was laughing outright, as she searched about the room for the newest alarm. She had a good hunt, too, for the clock was
