o stint and the
decorations were made as beautiful as possible. There were pretty little
favors for everyone, and such good things to eat as would have done
credit to any entertainment. It was all over at six o'clock, but not one
went away with a feeling of having had a stupid time, for even the older
girls agreed among themselves that it had been great fun.

"Did you ever see anything like those children's eyes when they saw that
table," said Agnes smiling at the recollection.

"It must have been like a fairy tale to them, poor little things,"
replied Helen Darby. "I think it was a perfectly lovely thing for Mrs.
MacDonald to do. Won't I have fun telling father about it, and how
interested he will be. He has been quizzing me all day about my orphan
asylum party, but I know he liked my going."

"I liked that little Nettie Black," Florence remarked. "She has such a
nice quaint little face, like an old-fashioned picture. Her name ought
to be Prudence or Charity or some of those queer old names. Where did
you pick her up, Edna?"

"Oh, she is the little girl that I kept house with at the time of the
blizzard," Edna told her. "She lives just a short way up the side road,
and she is a very nice child."

"I found that out," returned Florence. "Why doesn't she belong to our
club?"

"Because she doesn't go to our school."

"To be sure, I forgot that. Well, she could be made an honorary member
or something, couldn't she Agnes?"

"Why, I should think so. We'll have to bring that up at our next
meeting. Would she like to belong to the club, do you think, Edna?"

"She would just love to, I know."

"Then we'll have to fix it some way. I'll ask mother or Mrs. Conway what
we can do."

"I don't know how we could all get into their parlor," said Edna
doubtfully; "it is so very tiny."

"We don't have to," Agnes told her, "for you know the general club-room
is up in our attic and I'm sure that is big enough for anyone. If Nettie
comes into the club, when her turn comes for a meeting it can be held in
the general club-room."

This was very satisfactory, but it did not do away with another
difficulty which came to Edna's mind. She knew that Mrs. Black had
barely enough means to get along on with the utmost economy and how
Nettie could ever furnish even simple refreshments for a dozen or more
girls she did not know. However, she would not worry about that till the
time came. As yet Nettie was not even a member of the club.