an back into the house, held up her ruined dress for
her mother to see, and then flung herself on the lounge with a burst
of tears. Her mother had to go out and tell the girls that Bessie
could not go."

"That was horrid!" said Kristy earnestly; "but why was she glad, for
you said she was?"

"She was, indeed; for an hour later her father drove up to the door
and said that he was obliged to go to the city on business, and if
Bessie could be ready in fifteen minutes, he would take her and let
her spend a few days with her cousin Helen, who had been urging her to
visit her. This was a great treat, for Bessie had never been to a
large city, and there was nothing she wanted so much to do. You see,
if she had been away at the party, she would have missed this
pleasure, for her father could not wait longer. She forgot her
disappointment in a moment, and hurried to get ready, while her
mother packed a satchel with things she would need."

By this time Kristy was seated close by her mother, eagerly interested
in the story.

Mrs. Crawford paused.

"Do go on, mamma," said Kristy; "tell me more about her. Did she have
a nice time in the city?"

"She did," went on Mrs. Crawford; "so nice that her father was
persuaded to leave her there, and she stayed more than a week. There
was one scrape, however, that the girls got into that was not so very
nice."

"Tell me about it," said Kristy eagerly.

"Well," said her mother, "this is the way it happened."

CHAPTER II

PLAYING DOCTOR; AND WHAT CAME OF IT

One rainy Saturday afternoon when they were not allowed to go out,
Bessie and Helen were playing with their dolls in the nursery.

Helen had a large family of dolls of many kinds: stiff kid-bodied
dolls with heads made of some sort of composition that broke very
easily, and legs and feet from the knees down of wood, with slippers
of pink or blue painted on; others all wood, with jointed legs and
arms, that could sit down; whole families of paper dolls cut from
cardboard, with large wardrobes of garments of gilt and colored paper
which the girls made themselves. Then there was a grand wax doll with
real hair which hung in curls, and lips slightly open showing four
tiny white teeth. This lovely creature was dressed in pink gauze, and
was far too fine for every day. It lived in the lower bureau drawer
in Helen's room, and was brought out only on special occasions.

Dearest of all was a doll her mother made for her, of