ewhere before they separated. So they all
hurried home to do what Katherine called "tall strides of work," and at
four o'clock they were waiting, with tempting-looking bags and bundles
tucked under their arms, for a car.

"We'll take the first one that comes," Bob decided, "and go until we see
a nice picnic-y place."

Generally no one place would have pleased everybody, but to-day no one
said a word against Bob's first choice,--a steep, breezy hillside, with
a great thicket of mountain laurel in full bloom near the summit and a
flat rock, shaded by a giant elm-tree, for a table.

[Illustration: "LADIES, BEHOLD THE PRECEPTRESS OF THE KANKAKEE ACADEMY"]

It was such a comical supper, for each girl had obeyed Bob's haphazard
instructions to bring what she liked best. So Roberta had nothing but
ginger-snaps and Babbie solemnly presented each guest with a bottle of
olives. Madeline had brought strawberries with sugar to dip them in, and
Helen, Betty and Eleanor discovered to their amazement that they had all
chosen chocolate eclairs.

"It's not a very substantial supper," said Madeliner "but we can stop
at Cuyler's on our way back."

"For a substantial ice," jeered Bob.

"Who's hungry anyway after last night?" asked Nita.

"I am," declared Eleanor. "They took away my salad before I was through
with it, and K. stole my ice."

"Well, you're growing fat," Katherine defended herself, "and you've got
to save your lovely slenderness until after Mary's wedding. She'll tell
everybody that you're the college beauty and you must live up to the
reputation or we shall be undone."

Katherine knew that she couldn't come on from Kankakee for that wedding,
and Helen and Rachel knew that they couldn't either, though they lived
nearer. And Madeline was sailing on Saturday for Italy, "to stay until
daddy's paint-box runs out of Italian colors." But they didn't talk
about those things at the picnic, nor on the swift ride home across the
dark meadows, nor even at Cuyler's, which looked empty and deserted when
they tramped noisily in and ordered their ices.

"Everybody else is too busy to go on picnics," said Bob.

"We always did know how to have the best kind of times," declared Babbie
proudly.

"Of course. Aren't we 'Merry Hearts'?" queried Babe. "Being nice to
freaks was only half of being a 'Merry Heart.'"

"_Why_, girls," cried Nita excitedly, "as long as we didn't give away
the 'Merry Hearts,' we can go on being them, can't