o punish them," thought Mary,
nervously. "She is looking at my dreadful old gown," thought Angela,
miserably.

And moved thus differently by such different anticipations, the little
group came down the room, Mary's nervousness increasing at every
step,--for her shyness and the Quaker love of peace rose up within her
at the sight of Marian's face, that seemed to her to betoken a plan of
punishment for the approaching offenders more in accordance with the
fiery Selwyn spirit than any spirit of peace.

Just what Mary feared she could not have told; but she knew something of
this Selwyn spirit, and had often heard it said that the Selwyn tongue
could cut like a lash when once started. That the Ryders deserved the
sharpest cut of this lash she fully believed; but, "Oh, I _do_ hope
Marian won't say anything sharp _now_," she thought to herself. And it
was then, just then, at that very moment, that she saw Marian's face
change again, as the softest, sweetest, kindest of smiles beamed from
lips and eyes, and the softest, sweetest, kindest of voices said,--

"How do you do, Mary? I'm very glad to see you,--you know my cousins,
Bertie and Laura;" and in the next breath, "How do you do, Miss Jocelyn?
It's very nice to see you here.--Bertie, Laura, this is my friend Angela
Jocelyn, who is going to make one of our charade party next month if I
can persuade her."

One of that May-day charade party! Mary opened her eyes very wide at
this, and Angela wondered if she were awake. But the charming voice was
now speaking to some one else,--was saying very politely without a
touch of sharpness, but with a world of meaning to those who had the
clew, and those only,--

"How do you do, Lizzy? How do you do, Nelly? And, Nelly, I want to thank
you for a real service in connection with my birthday invitations. But
for you I should have missed a very welcome guest. I shall never forget
this, you may be sure."

"I--I--" But for once Nelly Ryder's ready speech failed her. Her cousin
tried to take up her words, tried to say something about April fun,
tried to smile, to laugh; but the laugh died upon her lips, and she was
only too glad to move on with Nelly into the room beyond, and there, out
of the range of observation for a moment, the two expressed their
astonishment and dismay at Marian's knowledge, and wondered how she came
by it.

"But to think of her taking an April joke so seriously as to make much
of Angela Jocelyn just to come up w