," said Miss Allison, "at least to the
station, for you may be sure they'll be on hand to see you start, and
their feelings would be sadly hurt if you didn't take it, at any rate
out of their sight."

It was time for the leave-takings to begin. Joyce and Eugenia put on
their hats, and Eliot hurried out with the satchels as the carriage
drove up. At the last moment Mom Beck waylaid them in the hall with two
huge bundles.

"I couldn't do nothin' else fo' you chillun," she said, as she offered
them. "Ole Becky ain't got much to give but her blessing but I can
_cook_ yit, and I done made you a big spice cake apiece, and icened it
with icin' an inch thick."

The girls thanked her till her black face beamed, but they looked at
each other ruefully when they were in the carriage.

"How I am ever to reach New York with a big frosted cake in my arms is
more than I know," said Eugenia. "I'll have to cut it up and pass it
around on the train."

"But think of me," groaned Joyce. "I have my cake and Bob, too, and
nobody to carry my satchel and umbrella."

The kissing and hand-shaking began, and a cross-fire of good-byes. "Give
my love to your mother, Joyce." "Write to me first thing, Eugenia."
"Good-bye, Betty." "Good-bye, Lloyd." "Keith and I won't make our adieux
now; we'll follow you to the station and see you off on the train."
"Good-bye! Good-bye, everybody!"

At last the carriage started on, but was brought to a halt by a shrill
call from Rob. They looked back to see him standing on the porch beside
the Little Colonel, who was excitedly waving a bunch of flowers which
she had been carrying all evening. The light from the red lantern above
her threw a rosy glow over the graceful little figure, the soft light
hair, and smiling, upturned face. That is the picture they carried away
with them.

"Wait!" she cried, a smile dimpling her cheeks, and shining with a
mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Wait! You've forgotten something!
Eugenia's chicken!"

Little Jim Gibbs came running after them with it, and Mr. Forbes lifted
it up beside the hamper that held Joyce's puppy.

"Oh, I've sat on my cake and mashed it," moaned Joyce, as she moved over
to make a place for the dilapidated old bandbox. "How do you suppose
we're ever going to get home with such a mixture of frosted cakes and
puppies and chickens, and all the keepsakes that those boys piled on to
us at the last moment."

It was amid much laughter that the carriage move