ry produced pencils
and their professional note-books, and supplied their fair friend and
themselves with material for "Truth." "Come on, Patty, whisper me
whatever you want to."

"No; I ought to have her whisper _me_, first," Henry Rooter objected.
"I'll write the answer to _any_ question; I don't care what it's about."

"Well, it's got to be the _truth_, you know," Patty warned them. "We
all haf to write down just exackly the truth on our word of honour and
sign our name. Promise?"

They promised earnestly.

"All right," said Patty. "Now I'll whisper Henry a question first, and
then you can whisper yours to me first, Herbert."

This seemed to fill all needs happily, and the whispering and writing
began, and continued with a coziness little to the taste of the piously
singing Florence. She altered all previous opinions of her friend Patty,
and when the latter finally closed the session on the steps, and
announced that she must go home, the hostess declined to accompany her
into the house to help her find where she had left her hat and wrap.

"I haven't the _least_ idea where I took 'em off!" Patty declared in the
airiest manner. "If you won't come with me, Florrie, s'pose you just
call in the front door and tell your mother to get 'em for me."

"Oh, they're _somewhere_ in there," Florence said coldly, not ceasing to
swing her foot, and not turning her head. "You can find 'em by yourself,
I presume, or if you can't I'll have our maid throw 'em out in the yard
or somep'n to-morrow."

"Well, _thank_ you!" Miss Fairchild rejoined, as she entered the house.

The two boys stood waiting, having in mind to go with Patty as far as
her own gate. "That's a _pretty_ way to speak to company!" Herbert
addressed his cousin with heavily marked severity. "Next time you do
anything like that I'll march straight in the house and inform your
mother of the fact."

Florence still swung her foot and looked dreamily away. She sang, to the
air of "Rock of Ages":

"Henry Rooter, Herbert, too--they make me sick, they make me sick,
that's what they do."

However, they were only too well prepared with their annihilating
response.

"Oh, say not so! Florence, say not so! _Florence!_ Say not so!"

They even sent this same odious refrain back to her from the street, as
they departed with their lovely companion; and, so tenuous is feminine
loyalty sometimes, under these stresses, Miss Fairchild mingled her
sweet, tantalizing young sop