flowers to Mr. Watkins's chapel," suggested Ethel Blue.
"Della told me the people hardly ever see a flower, it's so far to any
of the parks where there are any."

"Our women at Rose House were pathetic over the flowers when they first
came," said Helen. "Don't you remember the Bulgarian? She was a country
girl and she cried when she first went into the garden."

"I'm glad we planted a flower garden there as well as a vegetable
garden."

"It has been as much comfort to the women as ours have been to us."

"I think they would like to send in some flowers from their garden beds
to the chapel," suggested Ethel Blue. "I was talking with Mrs. Paterno
the other day and she said they all felt that they wanted all their
friends to have a little piece of their splendid summer. This will be a
way for them to help."

"Mr. Watkins's assistant would see that the bunches were given to their
friends if they marked them for special people," said Ethel Brown.

"Let's get it started as soon as we can," said Helen. "You're secretary,
Ethel Blue; write to-day to the Guild for some pasters and postcards and
tell them we are going to send to Mr. Watkins's chapel; and Ethel Brown,
you seem to get on pretty well with Bulgarian and Italian and a few of
the other tongues that they speak at Rose House--suppose you try to make
the women understand what we are going to do. Tell them we'll let them
know on what day we're going to send the parcel in, so that they can cut
their flowers the night before and freshen them in salt and water before
they travel."

"Funny salt should be a freshener," murmured Dorothy, as the Ethels
murmured their understanding of the duties their president assigned to
them.

CHAPTER XIII

IN BUSINESS

It was quite clear to the Clarks that the "botanist" had not given up
his hope of buying the field, in spite of the owners' insistence that
not only was its title defective but that the option had been promised
to Mrs. Smith. He roamed up and down the road almost every day, going
into the field, as the girls could see from their elevation in
Fitz-James's woods, and stopping at the Clarks' on his return if he saw
any of the family on the veranda, to inquire what news had come from
their nephew.

"I generally admire persistency," remarked Mr. Clark one day to Mrs.
Smith and Dorothy, and the Ethels, "but in this case it irritates me.
When you tell a man that you can't sell to him and that you wouldn't if
you