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building of the school were all in favor of it. There were three of
them,--Mr. Massey, the druggist, the proprietor of the Lake View Inn,
and Dr. Poole, one of the two medical practitioners in the town. These
three were instructed to appoint two others to act with them, and as
these two appointees need not be taxpayers, one of them was Nelson
Haley, who acted as secretary.

When Janice heard of this, she was delighted. She had not seen the
teacher more than to say "how-de-do" since their rather warm discussion
before the date of the town meeting. Now she put herself in the way of
meeting him where they might have a tete-a-tete.

There were not many social affairs in Poketown for young people. Janice
had attended one or two of the parties where boys and girls mingled
indiscriminately and played "kissing games," then she refused all such
invitations. She was not old enough to expect to be bidden to the few
social gatherings held by the more lively class of people in the town.

The church did little outside of the ladies' sewing circle to promote
social intercourse in the congregation. So, although the school-teacher
might have been invited to a dozen evening entertainments during that
winter, Janice did not chance to meet him where they could have a "good,
long talk" until the Hammett Twins gave their annual Sugar Camp party.

The two little old ladies, whom Janice had met so soon after coming to
Poketown, had become staunch friends of the girl. She had been at their
home on the Middletown road several times--twice to remain over night,
for both Miss Blossom and Miss Pussy enjoyed having young people about
them.

They were an odd little couple, but kindly withal, and loved children
desperately, as many spinster ladies do. They had never married because
of the illness for many years of both their father and their mother.
Besides, the twins had never wished to be separated.

Now, at something over sixty years of age, they owned a fine farm and
the most productive sugar-maple orchard in that part of the state. At
sugaring time each year they invited all the young folk Walky Dexter
could pack into his party wagon, to the camp not far from their house;
and, as maple-sugar making was a new industry to Janice, she was not a
little eager when she received her invitation from the two old ladies.

The "sugaring" was on a Saturday, and the party met at the schoolhouse.
Some of the larger girls who had treated Janice so unpl