."

"We can't stay very long," said Elise; "of course, Mona and I have to
go home and dress and be back here at four o'clock, and it's nearly
two, now."

"All right," said Patty; "the boys are coming, and they'll do the
rest. We couldn't hang the flowers on the wall, anyway."

"We ought to have had a florist to attend to it," said Nan,
thoughtfully; "I had no idea there'd be so many."

"Oh, it'll be all right," returned Patty. "Father's coming home early,
and Roger and Ken will be over, and Mr. Hepworth will direct
proceedings."

Even as she spoke the men's voices were heard in the hall, and Patty
jumped up from the table and ran to the drawing-room.

"Did you ever see anything like it?" she exclaimed, and her visitors
agreed that they never had.

"It must be awful to be so popular, Patty," said Roger. "If I ever
come out, I shall ask my friends to send fruit instead of flowers."

"Patty would have to start a canning factory, if she had done that,"
said Kenneth, laughing. "Let's open this big box, Patty. Who sent it?"

"I haven't an idea, but there must be a card inside."

They opened the immense box, and found it full to the brim with
exquisite Killarney roses.

After some search, Roger discovered a small envelope, with a card
inside. The card read, "Mr. William Farnsworth," and written beneath
the engraved name was the message, "With congratulations and best
wishes."

"From Big Bill!" exclaimed Mona. "For goodness' sake, Patty, why
didn't he send you more? But these didn't come all the way from
Arizona, where he is."

"No," said Patty, looking at the label on the box; "he must have just
sent an order to a New York florist."

"To two or three florists, I should think," said Mr. Hepworth. "What
can we do with them all?"

But the crowd of merry young people set to work, and in an hour the
floral chaos was reduced to a wonderful vision of symmetry and beauty.
Under Mr. Hepworth's directions, the flowers were banked on the
mantels and window-seats, and hung in groups on the wall, and
clustered on the door-frames in a profusion which had behind it a
methodical and symmetrical intent.

"It's perfectly beautiful!" declared Nan, who, with her husband, was
taking her first view of the finished effect. "It's a perfect shame to
spoil this bower of beauty by cramming it with a crowd of people, who
will jostle your bouquets all to bits."

"Well, we can't help it," said Patty. "You see, we invited the people,