ure sign of rain. And as she looked, she
noticed a curious thing--the side door was open.

Somebody else must be up. If it were Esther, Jane decided that she would
call "Boo" very loudly and surprise her; but it was her mother and not
Esther who came out of the open door. Jane drew back, watching through
the curtains. She thought her mother looked very pretty in her dressing
gown with her hair down and her bare feet thrust into pink satin mules.
It was a pity, Jane thought, that she wasn't as nice as she looked. And
how curiously she was acting. She was actually climbing up the little
ladder which led to the bird house by the side of the lawn. Jane knew
there was nothing at all in the bird house, for she herself had placed
the ladder there the day before. Whatever was she doing? Jane giggled,
for one of Mary's slippers had fallen off leaving her foot bare. But she
didn't seem to care. She was putting her hand far into the bird house.
Jane watched the hand carefully to see what it might bring out. But it
came out empty. Mary hurriedly climbed down the ladder, picked up her
slipper, glanced quickly around the empty garden and ran back into the
house closing the door without a sound.

Jane was puzzled. What had her mother hoped to find in the bird house?
She crept back into bed, wondering, and just as she was slipping off to
sleep, the solution came. "She was hiding something," thought Jane,
sleepily, "and when I get up I'll find out what it is."

Little things are the levers which move the big things of life. Had it
been any other day save the day of the picnic, Jane would certainly have
found out what Mary hid in the bird house and many things might have
been different. But there was so much to do that morning and Ann and
Bubble came over before Jane finished breakfast so that in the
delightful hurry of getting ready and packing baskets, she forgot
all about it.

There was a disappointment, too, at the last moment, for just when they
were all ready and the doctor had come with the motor, Mrs. Coombe
decided that she really did not feel equal to going and that meant that
Esther had to stay behind. Jane showed signs of tears. Ann and Bubble
protested volubly. Even the doctor did his best to change
Mary's decision.

"You really ought to come, Mary," he said, "the drive alone will do you
good, and if you get tired of it, I can bring you home early." He looked
at her rather anxiously as he spoke but she did not seem ill.