be just like Cousin Appolina's unexpectedness if she
were to veer suddenly around and decree that Margaret, as she always
called her, should be the one to go to England.

Consequently, suspense and excitement ran high in the Reid family, and
in the intervals of study, fair work, and poetry-making there was much
discussion as to which of the three should be Miss Appolina's choice.

She herself had gone to Washington for a few weeks, and the family
breathed more easily for a time. When so much depended upon it the girls
were greatly afraid of doing something to offend their cousin, which
might very easily happen, and in that case she would sail alone with her
maid!

In the mean time preparations for the fair continued, and at last the
day arrived. Millicent, having convinced herself that this would be the
best means of securing the recognition of her powers as a poetess that
she wanted, the recognition which had hitherto been denied her by
unfeeling editors, had been reeling off verse by the yard.

Each poem had been printed in the form of a little fancy booklet, at
considerable expense to the author, it is true, but the girls had plenty
of pocket money, and Millicent had eased her conscience with the thought
that her object was charity as well as recognition, and each copy that
was sold would bring in twenty-five cents to the fair. She had raised
the price since the poems came home--she had no idea that they would
look so attractive, she said. They would be sure to sell.

Peggy had helped her with a readiness that would have appeared
suspicions if Millicent had not been too much absorbed in sentiment to
notice it. She had accompanied her cousin to make arrangements for
having the poems printed, and had inspected them on their return, and
now the morning upon which the fair was to open she offered to carry the
box which contained them to an office in the neighborhood, and have them
sent to Sherry's, where the fair was to be held, by a district telegraph
boy.

"It is much better than ringing for a messenger-boy to come to the
house," she said, "for then no one can find out in any way who 'Pearl
Proctor' is. I shall be on hand when the box arrives so that I can hear
what people say, but you had better not come until afterwards, Mill, for
your face would be sure to give it away."

The fancy articles, including Miss Briggs's slippers, had already been
sent.

Joanna went to school, longing for the morning to pass that