want you to go and have a good time. You never have good times,
Carry."

"Neither do you," said Carry rebelliously. "You never have anything
that other girls have, Patty--not even pretty clothes."

"Deed, and I've lots of things to be thankful for," said Patty
cheerily. "Don't you fret about me. I'm vain enough to think I've got
some brains anyway, and I'm a-meaning to do something with them too.
Now I think I'll go upstairs and study this evening. It will be warm
enough there tonight, and the noise of the machine rather bothers me."

Patty whisked out, and Carry knew she should go to her sewing. But she
sat a long while at the table in dismal thought. She was so tired, and
so hopeless. It had been such a hard struggle, and it seemed now as if
it would all come to naught. For five years, ever since her mother's
death, Carry had supported herself and Patty by dressmaking. They had
been a hard five years of pinching and economizing and going without,
for Enderby was only a small place, and there were two other
dressmakers. Then there was always the mortgage to devour everything.
Carry had kept it at bay till now, but at last she was conquered. She
had had typhoid fever in the spring and had not been able to work for
a long time. Indeed, she had gone to work before she should. The
doctor's bill was yet unpaid, but Dr. Hamilton had told her to take
her time. Carry knew she would not be pressed for that, and next year
Patty would be able to help her. But next year would be too late. The
dear little home would be lost then.

When Carry roused herself from her sad reflections, she saw a crumpled
note lying on the floor. She picked it up and absently smoothed it
out. Seeing Patty's name at the top she was about to lay it aside
without reading it, but the lines were few, and the sense of them
flashed into Carry's brain. The note was an invitation to Clare
Forbes's party! The Lea girls had known that the Forbes girls were
going to give a party, but they had not expected that Patty would be
invited. Of course, Clare Forbes was in Patty's class at school and
was always very nice and friendly with her. But then the Forbes set
was not the Lea set.

Carry ran upstairs to Patty's room. "Patty, you dropped this on the
floor. I couldn't help seeing what it was. Why didn't you tell me
Clare had invited you?"

"Because I knew I couldn't go, and I thought you would feel badly over
that. Caddy, I wish you hadn't seen it."

"Oh, Pa