ir
troubles to someone.

"Good-by," said the strange girl, smiling over her shoulder. She kissed
the baby. "Shake a paddy good-by," she said, and a little dimpled hand
wagged a farewell at Rosanna and Helen.

"We're very sorry," said Helen. "Good-by!"

"Good-by!" echoed Rosanna.

They scrambled up the bank and stopped, staring. In the middle of the
grassy lawn that they had chosen for their picnic ground stood the lunch
hamper. It looked as big as a house!

"Bread and butter and three plums apiece," said Helen under her breath.

"Bread and butter and three plums apiece," echoed Rosanna. "Helen," she
said solemnly, "this is the reason we packed such a lot of lunch. Come
on!" She turned and dashed down the bank and along the shady road. For
the first time in her life Rosanna was doing something that had not been
suggested to her; something that was out of the regular order of things.
She did not ask herself if the children belonged to nice families. She
rather knew they had no family at all in the sense her grandmother
always used. She did not stop to remember how shocked and horrified her
grandmother would be if she could see her racing along trying to
overtake the grubby little group of poor children. With Helen close
behind, she skimmed around the first curve and spied them ahead.

Rosanna and Helen commenced to call and wave their arms. The girl heard
and once more set down the baby. Tommy heard and squeezed out a louder
howl. Luella opened her eyes. Myron glanced at them and again turned
away and stared down the road. Rosanna and Helen dashed up.

"We want you to come and have supper with us," said Rosanna, with her
sweet smile. "We have a lovely supper and we cooked most of it
ourselves, and we brought a whole hamper full."

Tommy shut up suddenly. This was something he could not afford to miss
hearing. Luella showed that her eyes could open and be very large and
round indeed.

"I don't feel we had better," said the older girl slowly. She certainly
looked very tired.

"Oh yes, you must!" said Rosanna. "The basket holds just enough for
eight people--grown-up people at that; and there are only three of us.
Minnie thought we were crazy to pack so much, but the things looked so
nice when they filled the boxes cramful. _Please_ do come!"

"I don't know," she said hesitatingly.

Helen looked at her and made a sign that Rosanna did not see. Then "I
_thought_ you were a Girl Scout," she said. "Now that makes