Do not think, dear girls, that because you are girls you may not have as much courage as your brothers. I believe that quite as stout hearts beat beneath muslin frocks as under stuff jackets. When you have finished reading this book about your sisters, perhaps – if you do not already – you will agree with me, and think that it needs only occasion to call out the necessary courage. I have been asked which one of these heroines I think the most daring, but – oh dear – it would never do to have a favourite, would it? So I leave them to you, and that you will enjoy learning of their trials and triumphs is the wish of your friend, the author.