o put some seeds in it without
her knowing anything about it, so's she would have a s'prise. Now she'll
have lots of s'prises. She'll think it's the piskies, won't she?"

"Two-legged piskies, I guess," laughed Miss Babbs, knowingly, and the
children were too polite to remind her that piskies never had more.
"When your peas come up, Miss Deborah, you come along to me, and I will
give you some fine little sticks for them."

"Oh, thank you!" cried Debby, and in the excitement they both ran off
still clutching their pennies, and had to go back again with them.

They had spent so much time over their purchases, that they had only just
got their seeds planted by the time the breakfast bell rang. Their great
fear was that Faith might have seen them, and would ask them what they had
been doing; but Faith had been so busy dressing Joan, and helping Mary in
the kitchen, she had had no time to look out of the window.

Audrey, though, came full upon them as they came in with their hands
earthy, and their pinafores wet, and Audrey was irritable because she was
so nervous and anxious.

"I do think you children might have kept yourselves decently clean until
breakfast time," she snapped, crossly. "But I am sure you must try to see
how much trouble you can give. Whatever have you been doing? Something
you oughtn't to, of course." She stood glowering darkly down at them, and
the two bright little faces lost their brightness.

"We've been--'tending to Faith's new flower-bed," said Tom, sturdily,
"the plants would have died if we hadn't watered them."

"Faith's flower-bed? It isn't Faith's any more than it is mine,
or--or----"

The two looked at each other in consternation. If they had known that,
they would not have spent their precious pennies in buying seeds for it.
Tom's annoyance found vent in words. "If it was yours, why didn't you
give it some water, then?" he demanded.

Audrey made no reply. "If you don't behave yourselves, you won't be
allowed to go to the picnic this afternoon," she said sternly, as she
walked away to the dining-room, leaving two mortified, angry little hearts
behind her.

"I don't want to go to her old picnic," stormed Tom in his bedroom, as he
scrubbed his earthy hands.

"Oh, yes, you do--it isn't Audrey's picnic," urged Debby anxiously,
"it is all of ours. It is daddy's really, and--and I shall have to go,
Tom, and I can't go without you, there wouldn't be anybody to talk to.
Say you'