amed
upon them all with the most rapturous delight when her efforts met with
like commendation. She had insisted on helping Cindy wait on them and
was such a very lovely young Hebe that they could scarcely eat for
looking at her.

"Sakes, Mis' Mayberry," said Mrs. Pike, who had unbent from her reserve
over her second cup of tea to a most remarkable degree, "it were hard
enough to ask Doctor Tom in to pot-luck with my chicken dumplins, that
he carries on over, a-knowing about what you and Cindy could shake up
in the kitchen, but with Miss Elinory's cooking added I'm a-going to
turn him away hungry next time."

"Oh, please don't!" exclaimed Miss Wingate. "Yours is the next place he
has promised to take me to supper. And Bud and Eliza have both invited
me."

"I'll set a day with him this very night," responded Mrs. Judy, all
undone with pride. Nothing in the world could have pleased the
hospitable country women more than the parties that Doctor Tom had been
improvising for the amusement of the singer girl. Before each visit he
openly and boldly made demands of each friend for her CHEF-D'OEUVRE and
consumed the same heartily and with delight in the stranger's growing
appetite.

"If you folks don't stop spoiling Tom Mayberry I won't never be able to
get him a wife. I'll have to take little Bettie to raise and teach her
how to bit and bridle him," laughed Mother Mayberry, as they all rose
and flocked to the front porch.

In the Road in front of the house had congregated the entire school of
small-fry, drawn by the mother lode, but too well trained to think of
making any kind of interruption to the gathering. They were busily
engaged in a tag and tally riot which was led on one side by Eliza and
the other by Henny Turner, whose generalship could hardly be said to
equal that of his younger and feminine opponent. Teether and little
Hoover sat in the Pike wheelbarrow which was drawn up beside the Pike
gate, and attached thereto by long gingham strings were Martin Luther
and little Bettie. They champed the gingham bits drawn through their
mouths and pranced with their little bare feet in the dust, as Eliza
found time every minute or two to call out "whoa" or cut at them with a
switch as she flashed past them. They were distinctly of the game and
were blissfully unconscious of the fact that they were not in it. This
arrangement for keeping them happy, though out of the way, had been of
Eliza's contriving and did credit to he