."

"What's that?" asked Max's voice in the doorway. Immaculate in white
flannels, with Bess by his side, bewilderingly beruffled, he viewed the
scene before him dispassionately.

Catherine and Agnes, red and warm and somewhat dishevelled, returned the
gaze for a moment silently. In that moment an entirely natural
resentment was forced into outward pleasantness.

"We were just wishing some one was here to make a bonfire of this
_debris_ for us," said Catherine cheerfully, "but never mind. There
comes Polly with a man from Henderson's, and he'll take it out."

"All right. Wish you luck. We'd stop and help, only we've got to meet
Arch and Win, and we're late already. So long!" and Max lifted his cap,
Bess waved her sunshade, and the two went around the corner out of
sight.

The man from Henderson's did some lifting very willingly, rescued what
was left of the water Bertha was tugging from the park, lighted the
stove and even stayed to poke the bonfire he made for them in the
street, and keep it from spreading.

"It's a good thing," he said, as he went away amid a chorus of "Thank
you." "Everybody'd ought to help all they can."

"I'd like to make him a member of the club," growled Polly, "and turn
one or two people I could mention out."

"Dorcas doesn't seem so zealous as she did yesterday," remarked
Catherine. "I hope she isn't angry, because we didn't fall in with her
suggestions."

Bertha looked conscious, and stole a glance at Agnes, but said nothing.
Catherine, catching the look, laughed.

"Father says Dorcas does us all a lot of good, as a counter-irritant.
Whenever we begin to feel a little cross with each other, we all turn in
and feel very cross with Dorcas. I was simply raging when Max and Bess
sailed by in their purple and fine linen, but at least they hadn't
pretended to be interested, and Dorcas--"

"She may be busy," said Agnes. "There's a lot of work at their house,
and Dorcas usually does her share. I'll say that much for her, though
she does make me awfully angry sometimes. Where is Elsmere? He might go
over to the store and get something to polish this window-glass with."

"I don't know. Elsmere! Elsmere! Where are you? Come here, dear." No
response.

"O, never mind," sighed Catherine wearily. "I'm not responsible for him.
It is a relief to have him out of the way for a while. I wanted to send
him home before, but he had such a sweet lady-like way with him this
morning, I couldn't bring m