Ruth Henry, although the sandwich table had
really been in charge of Elsie Lorimer.

"Fine! How much?"

"Thirty-two dollars--and some change!" Ruth glanced triumphantly at
Marjorie.

"Anyone else?" inquired Miss Phillips.

"Yes," replied Marjorie. "Lily and I did. We have one hundred and six
dollars, and twenty-five cents."

But amidst all the congratulations that followed, Marjorie thought only
of one thing: that she had been able to answer Ruth's challenge! She had
made the most of any booth--and she felt privileged to have a say in
the direction to which the money should be applied! She would not be
afraid to urge again the cause of Frieda Hammer, and the Scouts' Good
Turn!

CHAPTER XV

THE SCOUT CHRISTMAS TREE

It was not until the following Friday evening, when each girl in charge
of a table had made her report, that Miss Phillips was able to add up
the total receipts from the sales at the bazaar. At last she looked up
with a happy smile.

"Four hundred and twenty-two dollars!" she announced; and the girls
broke into uproarious applause.

"Since this is our last meeting in the old year," she went on, "I
especially want the new girls to take their Tenderfoot tests. But before
that, and before we talk over the Christmas plans that Ruth Henry
suggested several weeks ago, I desire to read you some letters.

"I went to the office of our little local newspaper, _The Star_, and
asked whether any poor children had written to Santa Claus through them.

"The woman in charge was awfully nice; she smiled sort of tenderly, as
if all the children belonged to her.

"'Indeed we have,' she replied, opening a drawer. 'Look at this bunch.'

"And she handed me these"--Miss Phillips held up a handful of torn,
dirty pieces of all kinds of paper, except writing paper--"and I
discovered there were thirty-two of them, all so quaint and funny. So I
said I would put the matter up to you Scouts to-night, and report to her
to-morrow."

"Oh, let's give them a party, and a tree, and the presents they want,"
cried Marjorie, anxious for everyone to know that she did not want to
monopolize all of the money for Frieda.

"Read them, please, Captain!" begged Frances.

Miss Phillips opened two or three, selected one, and read slowly,
apparently encountering difficulty in the spelling:

"Dear Santa Klaus:

"Pleas send me a dol that opens hur ise with love Mary Connelly."

After that she read half a dozen or s