ough her stitches were not quite even, but poor
Bertha found her work a difficult task. She never did fancywork, and knew
nothing of sewing, so her thread knotted and broke, and her patch
presented a sorry sight.

"Land o' Goshen!" exclaimed Miss Aurora, "is that the best you can do,
Bertha Warner? The town ought to take up a subscription to put you in a
sewin' school. Here child, let me show you."

Miss Bender took Bertha's block and tried to straighten it out, while
Bertha herself made funny faces at the other girls over Miss Aurora's
shoulder.

"I can see you," said that lady calmly, "I guess you forget that big
mirror opposite. But them faces you're makin' ain't half so bad as this
sewin' of yours."

The girls all laughed outright at Miss Bender's calm acceptance of
Bertha's sauciness, and Bertha herself was in nowise embarrassed by the
implied rebuke.

"There, child," said Miss Aurora, smoothing out the seams with her thumb
nail, "now try again, and see if you can't do it some better."

"Is your quilt nearly done, Miss Bender?" asked Patty.

"Yes, it is. I've got three hundred and eighty-seven geese finished, and
four hundred's enough. I work on it myself quite a spell every day, and I
think in two or three days I'll have it all pieced."

"Oh, Miss Bender," cried Bertha, "then won't you quilt it? Won't you have
a quilting party while my friends are here?"

"Humph," said Miss Aurora, scornfully, "you children can't quilt fit to
be seen."

"Elise can," said Bertha, looking at Elise's dainty block, "and Patty can
do pretty well, and as I would spoil your quilt if I touched it, Miss
Aurora, I'll promise to let it alone; but I can do other things to help
you. Oh, do have the party, will you?"

"Why, I don't know but I will. I kinder calculated to have it soon,
anyhow, and if so be's you young people would like to come to it, I don't
see anything to hinder. S'pose we say a week from to-day?"

The date was decided on, and the girls went home in high glee over the
quilting party, for Bertha told them it would be great fun of a sort they
had probably never seen before.

* * * * *

The days flew by rapidly at Pine Branches. Patty rapidly recovered her
usual perfect health and rosy cheeks. She played golf and tennis, she
went for long rides in the Warners' motor-car or carriages, and also on
horseback. There were many guests at the house, coming and going, and
amon