rl, why not? You know I talked about it last year. We want to
have one on a very grand scale; and there are a few friends at
Southampton that I would ask to join us. You won't have any expense
whatever. I'll stump up for the whole. Father gives me so much money that
I have at the present moment over five pounds in the savings-bank. We
will light fires in a clearing not far from here, and we will have tea
and supper afterwards; and we shall dance--dance by the light of the
moon--and I will bring my guitar to make music. Can you imagine anything
in all the world more fascinating?"

"Oh, Nancy, it does sound too lovely!" said Briar. "I'd just give the
world to go."

"Well, then, you shall come."

"But Aunt Sophy would not hear of it," said Verena.

"Nonsense!" cried Briar; "we must go. It would be such a jolly treat!"

Nancy favored the eight girls with a sharp glance.

"I have heard of that dreadful old body," she said. "Father told me. He
said you'd be frumped up like anything, and all the gay life taken out of
you. I came over on purpose. I pity you from the very bottom of my
heart."

"But, Nancy, you can't think how things are changed," said Pauline. "All
our time is occupied. Lessons began to-day. They are going to take hours
and hours."

"But these are holiday times," said Nancy. "All the world has a holiday
in the middle of the summer."

"That's true enough," said Verena; "but then we had holidays for over a
year, and Aunt Sophia says we must begin at once. She is quite right, I'm
sure; although of course we scarcely like it. And anyhow, Nancy, she
won't allow us to go to a midnight picnic; there's no use thinking about
it."

"But suppose you don't ask her. Of course, if she's an old maid she'll
refuse. Old maids are the queerest, dumpiest things on the earth. I'm
really thankful I'm not bothered with any of them. Oh! here comes Pen.
It's nonsense to have a child like that out of the nursery. We'd best not
say anything before her. Verena and Briar, will you walk down to the gate
with me? I thought perhaps we might have the picnic in a week. It could
be easily managed; you know it could."

"Oh, we must go!" said Pauline.

"I'm going," said Josephine.

But Verena was silent.

"Here's your cabbage-leaf. How red your face looks!" said Penelope.

Nancy turned and gazed at her. She was a bold-looking girl, and by no
means pretty. She snatched the leaf angrily from Penelope's hand, saying:

"Oh, my dea