Peachy. "I'm
bursting to begin. Let's have that candy party right away. Can anybody
raise a lira or two?"

"We'll give you our subscriptions back in the house, if you'll act
treasurer and wheedle Antonio. Fairy Godmothers, Limited! It's a brainy
notion. When shall you ask those kids? You bet they'll buzz in like
bees."

The loud clanging of the garden bell, which seemed to punctuate life at
the Villa Camellia, broke up the meeting in a hurry and scattered its
members in the direction of their classrooms. At the first opportunity,
however, Irene unlocked her cash-box and took out a contribution towards
the candy party. She was not yet used to the Italian paper money, and
had only a vague idea of its value, but she judged that two lire was the
expected amount, and carried it accordingly to Peachy's dormitory.

"You white angel! It's a bountiful 'contrib.' I've squared Antonio.
He'll leave the parcel inside the grotto. What we should do without that
dear old man I can't imagine. I've told the juniors, and they're simply
crazy to come. I've fixed it up for directly after tea."

Antonio, the old concierge who had charge of the gate, was absolutely
faithful to his duties as porter, and guarded the Villa Camellia as
zealously as a convent, but he was lenient on one point--he was willing
sometimes to smuggle sweets, and those girls who knew how to coax could
induce him to make an expedition to the confectioner's and fetch them a
small private store of what delicacies they fancied. He had his own
ideas of how much was good for them, and would never be responsible for
more than a limited allowance; neither would he undertake more than one
commission per week for any single girl. It was a matter of favor, and
to some of the pupils he would only grunt a refusal. Peachy, however,
was a champion wheedler; she had a certain command over the Italian
language, and could persuade Antonio, in his native tongue, of the
absolute necessity of her demands. He was quite generous on this
occasion, and slipped a fair-sized parcel of mixed Neapolitan bonbons
into the sanctuary of the deserted summer-house.

Nineteen interested juniors, bidden to an unwonted entertainment,
dodged their prefect after tea, evaded a basket-ball practice, scattered
themselves in the grounds, met in the long pergola, and proceeded to the
jessamine-covered arbor, where they were received politely by their ten
hostesses. It was, of course, impossible to accommodate