with Colonel Gresham to-morrow
morning!"

"With Colonel Gresham! He hasn't invited me!" Miss Sterling's
knitting dropped into her lap.

"I have--or I'm going to! Oh, it will be lovely!" Polly's brown
eyes shone. "Colonel Gresham is going to let us have his two
biggest cars, and he will drive the seven-passenger one. Then
father says we may have ours with Evan to drive, and we're going to
take as many of the ladies as we can and have a beautiful ride!
What do you think of that?"

"It's overwhelming! Catch me if I drop!" The gray-blue eyes were
dancing.

Polly squeezed her ecstatically. "I want you in the car with me,
and now let's see how many can go and which ones to ask."

It was a pleasant task, though really a little puzzling, for there
were sixteen ladies of the Home, and only ten or eleven were to be
counted among the weaklings. Nobody must be offended and nobody
must feel hurt. So with David and Leonora, it was a hard matter,
after all, to decide on the invitation list. Miss Sterling,
however, was a wonderful assistant. Polly was sure she could never
have disposed things so happily if it had not been for her wise
Miss Nita.

CHAPTER XV

"LOTS O' JOY"

The morning was as clear and balmy as a festival day should be, and
the cars were at the door of the June Holiday Home at three minutes
before nine o'clock.

"Let's go early," Juanita Sterling had said, "while the day is
fresh from the hand of God." And in accordance with her wish Polly
had appointed the hour.

Most of the ladies were in Sunday attire, their wardrobes holding
few changes between "everyday" and "best."

Juanita Sterling handled her small stock of apparel so that, plain
as it was, it had an air of distinction. Little deft touches here
and there added character and daintiness to any garment that she
wore. Some of the less fortunate realized this as they rode out of
the Home gate that July morning, and one or two were actually
envious of the little woman who sat in Colonel Gresham's beautiful
car and responded so merrily to the Colonel's sallies.

"I guess Miss Sterling has ways of getting her nest feathered that
some other folks don't know anything about," whispered Miss
Castlevaine to Miss Major.

"No such thing!" was the prompt retort. "She knows how to put her
feathers on, that's all."

"Knowing how don't change colors as I've ever heard--huh! Look at
that white dress! They don't give me white dresses!"