Alice. "That
seems a rather large proportion!"

Catherine, who had secured _Friendship Village_, and was rejoicing
in her good fortune, answered the criticism.

"You see, each member of the club selected a book for the first order,
and Dot and Max both chose _Alice_ and neither would give up, so we
finally ordered two; and then somebody gave us a copy afterward."

"What did you choose?"

Catherine laughed. "Can't you guess?"

Hannah pounced on a big copy of Pyle's _Robin Hood_.

"This, of course. Do you remember how you gave it to me to read the
first evening I was at your house?"

Frieda had been looking the shelves over as if seeking something, and
now straightened up, disappointed.

"Nowhere is there the _Laetus Sorte Mea_ book," she said sadly.

"That's so!" exclaimed Catherine, regretfully. "We'll put it on the
suggestion list at once. Do you see any other lack, any of you?"

They all laughed, looking about at the few hundred volumes on the
shelves, but Frieda said earnestly:

"There are many Germans here, Dr. Harlow told me. And the older ones
cannot read English. Can they have no share in the library?"

"That's right," said Alice. "They are taxpayers and I should think you
ought to get a few German books every year, Catherine. It's done in
other places."

Algernon was at liberty for a moment, and came over to the group.

"Are we talking too much?" asked Catherine.

"No, no. There's no one at the reading-table. What are you discussing?"

"Frieda thinks there should be German books here for the people in town
who can't read English."

"There ought," said Algernon gravely. "But I don't know what to order. I
don't want to start out with Goethe and Schiller. I asked the German
minister, and he gave a list of religious books, but that isn't what we
want, either."

Frieda's eyes shone. "Please let me make you a list," she said eagerly.
"And I have two or three books in my trunk which I would gladly give, O,
gladly."

Algernon's pleasure was as great as her own.

"That would be simply bully! We can order one each time we send for new
books, and it won't be long before we have a good supply. I say,
Catherine, would you mind taking the desk for a few minutes? There come
the program committee of the Study Club, and I ought to be free to talk
with them."

Catherine consented willingly, always liking to manipulate the simple
machinery of the loan desk. Frieda sat down at once with a pencil and
pap