ber of infallible signs. There were
periods of abstraction, characterized by long silences or random
replies. There were thoughtful little frowns, and sudden dimpling
smiles, all for no reason apparent. And when Peggy reached the point of
saying to herself in a confidential undertone, "There! That's just the
thing!" speculation ran riot in Dolittle Cottage.

But though the guessing was both varied and ingenious, it was all wide
of the mark. The announcement of Peggy's project at the breakfast-table
one morning took everybody by surprise. "Look here, girls," began Peggy,
betraying a degree of nervous excitement in her reckless salting of her
scrambled eggs, "what would you think of our giving a benefit
performance?"

"Performance of what?" asked half the table. And the other half wanted
to know, "Whose benefit?" Peggy answered the last question first.

"Lucy Haines'. She's had--that is, she isn't going to have some of the
money she was counting on for next year," Peggy flattered herself that
this discreet statement gave no hint of the heartache and humiliation
poor Lucy had undergone. "And even if we didn't make very much, a little
would help her out."

"But, Peggy, what could we do?" cried Amy, setting down her glass of
milk with an emphasis that sent part of its contents splashing over the
brim. "None of us sing any to speak of, except Priscilla, and she and
Claire are the only ones who play. I don't see--"

"Well, I've been wondering why we couldn't repeat that little farce we
gave at school last June. It wouldn't be much work, for we all know our
parts. Beside ours, there was only one that amounted to anything. I
thought maybe Claire would take that. The other characters have so
little to do that we could easily pick up girls for the parts. Lucy
herself might take one."

"And Rosetta Muriel," suggested Amy, rather maliciously. It was so
seldom Peggy really disliked anybody that the temptation to make
frequent mention of their pretentious neighbor was too much for Amy's
fun-loving disposition. Unconsciously Peggy's face assumed an expression
suggestive of just having swallowed a dose of quinine. "I suppose so,"
she agreed grudgingly, and Amy indulged in a wicked chuckle.

"But where could we give it, Peggy?" Ruth asked with animation. It was
easy to see that the suggestion had made a most favorable impression on
the company. The little comedy had been given during commencement week
and had proved the most popu