g the corridors, her snake in her hand again, but it
was a far happier Sarah than the little girl who had walked slowly
through them an hour and a half ago. Up to the lunch room dashed
this Sarah, and startled Rosemary who was opening the lunch box at
their corner table by her demand, "I have to bury a snake--will you
come help me?"

Of course she had to tell what had happened that morning, and
Rosemary and Shirley agreed that Mr. Oliver was "just as nice as
nice could be."

"Though I do hope, Sarah, this will teach you to let snakes alone,"
said Rosemary in the elder-sister tone she rarely used. "You
frightened Aunt Trudy into fits and now you've upset a whole class.
No, don't show me that ugly little snake--I'm sorry he is dead
because you are, but I don't want to see him; I couldn't eat a bit
of lunch. Come on, and eat your sandwiches and then we will go down
and bury him somewhere on the play-ground."

That night at dinner Rosemary had an announcement to make. Her eyes
shining like stars and her face glowing, she declared that she had
been appointed to plan and serve the dinner to be given by the
grammar school teachers for the Institute visitors.

"Institute is the second week in November," bubbled Rosemary, "and
there will be about ten visiting teachers from the towns within
twenty-five miles. Miss Parsons says I'm the best cook in the class
though Bessie Kent is older than I am and Fannie Mears had cooking
last year."

"But can you cook a dinner?" asked Doctor Hugh. "Seems to me that's
a pretty large order for a class of young girls and with visitors
expected, too."

"Oh, we know just what to do," said Rosemary confidently. "I have to
make out the menu and submit it to Miss Parsons by Friday of this
week. And then I have to choose the girls I want to help me cook,
and those to set and wait on the tables--this year we're going to
have small tables instead of one large one. And we girls are to do
every bit of the work ourselves!"

Aunt Trudy and Winnie beamed on Rosemary, sure that she would do
well whatever she undertook, while Sarah demanded to know who the
waitresses were to be.

"Well, Nina Edmonds for one," said Rosemary and the doctor frowned
involuntarily. Although Nina seldom came to the house and he knew
that Rosemary saw little of her outside of school, he could not help
but see that her influence continued to be remarkably strong.

"Nina's an awful chump," declared Sarah who cordially dislik