exuberant skip with the sheer joy of being alive.
"Anyway," she added, with inspiration, "if you get tired you and Mollie
can go back and get the car."

"And have to walk miles to get it," Grace objected. "No, Betty, you'll
have to think up something better than that."

"I wouldn't waste my time on such a lazy person, Betty," said Mollie, who
was walking briskly ahead with Amy. "I suppose we might have brought the
car," she added, after a minute, "only it seems foolish when you have to
stop at every house you come to."

"It not only _seems_ foolish--it _is_ foolish," said Betty cheerily.

"Oh, I tell you what," cried Amy, seized with sudden inspiration, while
the girls stared at her expectantly.

"Hasten, Amy," cried Mollie, in a mock agony of suspense. "Do not keep us
waiting in this fashion."

"Well," said Amy with a twinkle, "let's buy a couple of the worst sounding
horns we can find in town, go back and get Mollie's car--"

"Yes?" they queried breathlessly.

"And go through the streets tooting the horns until we've collected a
crowd," finished Amy triumphantly.

"And when we've got it, what'll we do with it?" queried Mollie reasonably.

"Well, I should think you'd guess the rest," remarked Amy. "We could just
tell 'em what we'd come for, that's all, and ask all who were willing to
take a 'guest' to say 'aye.'"

"Never mind, dear, there's still hope," remarked Mollie, patting her arm
soothingly. "The doctor said, with absolute rest and quiet, you might get
over it."

Betty chuckled. Grace did not, for the reason that her feet were
beginning to hurt and she did not feel in a chuckling mood.

"Well, I don't know but what there's something in your idea after all,
Amy," she said, while Amy looked immensely gratified. "I'm in favor of
anything that cuts out walking."

"'Cuts out'?" queried Mollie reprovingly.

"Yes, cuts out," returned Grace, sticking to her guns. "What do you say,
Betty? Don't you think Amy has the right idea?"

"Well," said Betty diplomatically, while her eyes twinkled at the
imaginary spectacle of whirling through the streets of the town, blowing
raucously on horns and making stump speeches from the running board of the
machine, "it would at least have the advantage of being spectacular--"

"There, Mollie!" cried Amy, not waiting for her to finish, the light of
triumph in her eyes. "You see it's three to one. Now, what have you got to
say for yourself?"

"Nothing," remarked Molli