the
stairs.

Hilary finished tying the knot of cherry ribbon at her throat, then
snatching up her big sun-hat from the bed, she ran down-stairs.

Before the side door, stood the big wagon, in which Mr. Boyd had driven
over from the farm, its bottom well filled with fresh straw. For
Hilary's outing was to be a cherry picnic at The Maples, with supper
under the trees, and a drive home later by moonlight.

Shirley had brought over the badges a day or two before; the blue
ribbon, with its gilt lettering, gave an added touch to the girls'
white dresses and cherry ribbons.

Mr. Dayre had been duly made an honorary member. He and Shirley were
to meet the rest of the party at the farm. As for Patience H. M., as
Tom called her, she had been walking very softly the past few days.
There had been no long rambles without permission, no making calls on
her own account. There _had_ been a private interview between herself
and Mr. Boyd, whom she had met, not altogether by chance, down street
the day before.

The result was that, at the present moment, Patience--white-frocked,
blue-badged, cherry-ribboned--was sitting demurely in one corner of the
big wagon.

Mr. Boyd chuckled as he glanced down at her; a body'd have to get up
pretty early in the morning to get ahead of that youngster. Though not
in white, nor wearing cherry ribbons, Mr. Boyd sported his badge with
much complacency. Winton was looking up, decidedly. 'Twasn't such a
slow old place, after all.

"All ready?" he asked, as Pauline slipped a couple of big pasteboard
boxes under the wagon seat, and threw in some shawls for the coming
home.

"All ready. Good-by, Mother Shaw. Remember, you and father have got
to come with us one of these days. I guess if Mr. Boyd can take a
holiday you can."

"Good-by," Hilary called, and Patience waved joyously. "This'll make
two times," she comforted herself, "and two times ought to be enough to
establish what father calls 'a precedent.'"

They stopped at the four other houses in turn; then Mr. Boyd touched
his horses up lightly, rattling them along at a good rate out on to the
road leading to the lake and so to The Maples.

There was plenty of fun and laughter by the way. They had gone
picnicking together so many summers, this same crowd, had had so many
good times together. "And yet it seems different, this year, doesn't
it?" Bell said. "We really aren't doing new things--exactly, still
they seem so."

Tracy