'I shall astonish'!"

At which quotation from the young lady in question, they both laughed,
and went out to their own supper, not at all sorry to have a quiet
evening alone.

It was not a quiet evening in the little library. Behind the drawn
shades, the boys and girls were busy spreading the long reading-table
with a white cloth, setting out upon it the motley collection of plates,
cups and silver ware which came out of the various picnic baskets, and
an equally motley, but very appetizing, array of good things to eat.
Winifred had laden Max with a chafing-dish, all legs and handles, he
declared, and with this at one end, Bess' little copper teakettle at the
other, Dorcas' asters for centerpiece and Polly's red-shaded candles at
accurate intervals between, the whole effect was "very festival," as
Frieda said admiringly.

As a finishing touch, Bertha and Algernon, official hosts, walked around
the table laying typewritten catalog cards at each place.

The others swarmed around instantly, examining and commenting.

"Cunning!" "Real library place cards!" "What a pretty idea!" "But
_what_ do they mean?"

Algernon and Bertha only laughed.

"No one can sit down till he has found his proper place," said Algernon
sternly. "This is a well-conducted library!"

"They all have the same number," cried Bert. "I'm on to that. See! It's
the date, fixed up to look like the mystic symbols they mark the books
with. 190.9 Se 16. September 16th, 1909. That's so much, gained. Now
some of you others can figure out the rest. I've done my share."

The others wandered around the table, picking up the cards and laying
them down again.

"_Brightness, or Beauty_," read Polly, disgustedly. "Imagine any
one of us owning up to that! Of course, we all know we have them both,
but who is going to claim them?"

"It's going to be a conflict between modesty and hunger soon, I can see
that," said Archie.

"_Peace_ and _Purity_ are all well enough. If I could find a
half-way sort like _Perfect Honesty_ or _Genius_, I'd stop
there! What's this? _Bright Raven!_ I tell you, it's a game, made
out of book titles. But I'll be jiggered if I ever heard of one of
them."

"I never did, either," said Dorcas, shortly. "They must have hunted
around in very queer places to find things that none of us know. _Star
of the Sea_, though, does sound familiar. Isn't it one of
Tennyson's?"

Bertha choked and turned away, avoiding Algernon's eye.

"Hurry up,