$300
One payment on furniture............ $400
Fuel and lights, etc................ $352
Service of 5 at $10 a week each... $2,600
Food for thirty-seven............. $3,848
-----
Total............................. $9,000

"That covers everything but my board," said Mrs. Bell.

"Now your income is easy--35 x $4.50 equals $8,190. Take that from your
$9,000 and you are $810 behind."

"Yes, I know," said Diantha, eagerly, "but if it was merely a girl's
club home, the rent and fixtures would be much less. A home could be
built, with thirty bedrooms--and all necessary conveniences--for $7,000.
I've asked Mr. and Mrs. Porne about it; and the furnishing needn't cost
over $2,000 if it was very plain. Ten per cent. of that is a rent of
$900 you see."

"I see," said her mother. "Better say a thousand. I guess it could be
done for that."

So they set down rent, $1,000.

"There have to be five paid helpers in the house," Diantha went on, "the
cook, the laundress, the two maids, and the matron. She must buy and
manage. She could be one of their mothers or aunts."

Mrs. Bell smiled. "Do you really imagine, Diantha, that Mrs.
O'Shaughnessy or Mrs. Yon Yonson can manage a house like this as you
can?"

Diantha flushed a little. "No, mother, of course not. But I am keeping
very full reports of all the work. Just the schedule of labor--the
hours--the exact things done. One laundress, with machinery, can
wash for thirty-five, (its only six a day you see), and the amount is
regulated; about six dozen a day, and all the flat work mangled.

"In a Girl's Club alone the cook has all day off, as it were; she can do
the down stairs cleaning. And the two maids have only table service and
bedrooms."

"Thirty-five bedrooms?"

"Yes. But two girls together, who know how, can do a room in 8
minutes--easily. They are small and simple you see. Make the bed, shake
the mats, wipe the floors and windows,--you watch them!"

"I have watched them," the mother admitted. "They are as quick as--as
mill-workers!"

"Well," pursued Diantha, "they spend three hours on dishes and tables,
and seven on cleaning. The bedrooms take 280 minutes; that's nearly five
hours. The other two are for the bath rooms, halls, stairs, downstairs
windows, and so on. That's all right. Then I'm keeping the menus--just
what I furnish and what it costs. Anybody could order and manage when
it was all set d