. Suppose,
Grace, that your mother could not afford to hire a servant to do these
things for her? In that case I am positive you would do whatever you could
to assist your mother. I believe you would make a fine little
housekeeper."

Grace shook her head with emphasis.

"No? Then what would you do if your mother insisted upon your washing
dishes?"

"I'd drop the ditheth. Maybe they wouldn't want me to wath any more
ditheth after that," replied Tommy, screwing up her face so impishly that
Miss Elting laughed aloud.

"Is it any wonder that Grace and myself quarrel awfully at times, Miss
Elting?" asked Margery.

"They don't mean anything by it," apologized Hazel.

"Thay, what did you come up here for, Mith Elting?" questioned Tommy,
directing a glance of suspicious inquiry at the teacher. "Do you want uth
to go for another nithe little walk? No, thank you. I've walked with you
before. Thank you very kindly. My feet are too thore and Buthter ith too
tired. Harriet'th brother thayth that Buthter wath born with that tired
feeling. I geth he'th right. Don't you think tho, Miss Elting? Thit down
and retht, and I'll tell your fortune with a daithy."

"If you are rested sufficiently I think we had better move on. Don't
worry, Grace. I am not going to drag you away on one of those long walks.
But I have something to tell you."

"I knew it," piped Tommy. "Look out! There cometh another automobile."
Tommy shied from her position in the road like a skittish horse.

Just then the car that had caused all the trouble came honking toward them
and slowed down with a series of explosions that sounded like the
discharges of a Gatling gun. The young woman who was driving the car,
brought it to a stop, leaped out and running to Grace threw her arms about
the slender girl in white.

"Oh, my darlin', my darlin'. My blessed little Tommy. Did I kill you
altogether? And I wasn't going a little bit, was I? But didn't I come near
to ripping the cowcatcher from that engine? Wasn't it just glorious the
way I dodged the old thing? I knew all the time it was going to be a close
shave, but I made up my mind I'd beat 'em out even if I took off the hind
wheels of my car. Get in, you dears. I'll drive you home."

"What! Ride with you?" questioned Margery. "Not for a million dollars.
It's a shame. They ought to arrest you."

"Yes, Jane," rebuked Miss Elting. "You shouldn't go racing about the way
you do. Your car nearly ran over Grace."

"Da