so?"

"I hardly know," said Mrs. Hardy. "I have been around so little; you
will have to be our guide and tell us the pretty places."

Dimple felt quite important, and chatted away at a great rate.

"Didn't Rock make our dolls pretty hats?" she asked. "Mrs. Hardy, I wish
he were my brother. He couldn't be, could he? Even if he could only be
my cousin, I should like it."

Mrs. Hardy looked at Rock, who laughed and said, "That is more likely
than the other."

"I don't see how," said Dimple.

"You will see," said Rock. But at a look from his mother he was silent.

They leaned back on the soft cushions, breathing the sweet air, spicy
with the scent of the pines through which they were driving.

At Big Run they all begged to get out, to see if there were any fish in
the water. They clambered about on the bank and over the stones, till
Mrs. Hardy told them it was too late to stop longer, and they drove
toward town.

After they had reached the house where Rock and his mother were
boarding, they took off their hats and were ready for tea. They wondered
if they were all to sit with Mrs. Brisk's family at the table, and
dreaded it a little. However, when Rock said, "Come this way, girls,"
they were a little mystified, for he took them out into the garden.

Under a trellised summerhouse there was set a little table for three,
and on the bench a very small table with two little chairs.

"That is for the dolls," explained Rock.

"Oh, Rock!" exclaimed the girls. "Where did they come from? Did you make
them?"

"Yes," said he. "Do you like them?"

"They are perfect," said Florence. "Dimple, do see how nicely Celestine
sits up to the table."

"And Rubina, too," said Dimple, as she took off her doll's hat. "Don't
they look lovely? Look, Rock. What a boy you are."

Rock laughed, and they turned to their own table, which had a tiny
bouquet by each plate and a pyramid of fruit in the centre.

The long drive had given them all an appetite, and they did full justice
to the croquettes, muffins and fried potatoes before they thought of the
jelly, fruit and cake.

"How will we get our chairs and table home?" said Florence.

"I will take them to-morrow," said Rock.

"Oh, no," said Dimple. "It was enough for you to make them, without
taking them home, too."

"Well," said Rock, "if the cabinetmaker can't take home his own goods, I
think it is a pity."

The girls laughed, and so the matter rested.

"What shall we do now