son, who, it appeared, had been solicited to lend
a handkerchief and a black necktie, that Mr. Snooks might be properly
attired for attending a funeral in the village, gave the schemers the
benefit of several valuable suggestions.

Peggy made her appearance dimpling with amusement, and was greeted with
a shout of interrogation. "Did you get it?" cried half a dozen voices in
chorus.

"Yes, I got it, but you never saw anybody so surprised and unwilling.
She hinted and fussed, and dropped hints that she'd been thinking of
making gingerbread for supper herself. It really made me uncomfortable
to take it, but I felt it was time that she had a lesson."

"High time!" agreed Amy with a droll glance at her fellow-conspirators.
The unsuspecting Peggy looked about with mild surprise on the laughing
group. "Well, we're sure of our gingerbread, anyway," she said and
passed into the house. Amy was instantly on her feet.

"Oh, Amy," exclaimed Ruth, half admiringly, and half in remonstrance,
"do you really dare?"

"Dare? Why, I don't need any great amount of courage. I'm only Number
Two. It's Number Five or Number Six who'll have to be brave." Amy went
gaily down the path, and Peggy as she stirred the soda into the
molasses, wondered at the laughter on the front porch and reflected that
the crowd was in unusually jolly spirits.

About the time that the gingerbread was beginning to diffuse its savory
odors through the house, Amy returned. A glance at her triumphant face
furnished sufficient proof that her undertaking had been successful,
even without the silent testimony of a large object concealed by a
napkin, and carried with ostentatious care. "Oh, Amy, what have you
there?" cried Priscilla, finding some difficulty in making her voice
heard above the chorus of exclamations and laughter.

"An apple-pie." Amy's tone indicated immense satisfaction with herself.

"Amy, not really? You couldn't!" Ruth protested, choking with laughter.

"Seeing's believing, isn't it?" Amy whisked off the napkin, and revealed
the pie still steaming. When order was sufficiently restored, she told
her story.

"I hadn't exactly made up my mind what I'd ask for, but the minute I was
inside the kitchen, I saw the pie set in the window to cool and I
decided on that. Poor Mrs. Snooks couldn't believe her ears. She asked
me over twice, and then she said she'd never heard of anybody's
borrowing a pie. And I said that we happened to be out of pies, and wer