where the wet of
her body had soaked through. Her face was streaked with mud and
her hair was drying in a stiff mat that hung down heavily over
her eyes. The once gorgeous hair ribbon was little better than a
lump of mud.

Several little girls on different porches called out in amazed
curiosity, "Why, Margery, what _is_ the matter?" and a boy or
two, staring hard, remarked, "Hello, Henry. What you doin'?" For
all the attention he paid, Henry might not have heard. With lips
tightly closed, eyes looking straight ahead, he rushed on, never
once relaxing hold of his miserable victim's arm.

At their own gate they met the twins and Gladys Bailey just
returning from their round of calls. One look at the strange
pair, and even Gladys lost her air of blase indifference. Her
eyes opened wide and she took a deep breath of interest and
surprise.

"Why, Henry," she said, "what in the world has Margery gone and
done now?"

_What has Margery gone and done now?_ If that wasn't like Gladys,
before she knew a thing about it to decide that Margery had gone
and done something! And when it was Gladys herself who was the
cause of it all, anyhow! Remembering this, Margery turned on her
and snarled like some angry little animal.

At this fresh token of savagery in his younger sister, Henry's
face grew quite apoplectic with shame. But, still keeping his
mouth closed, he pushed by Gladys and the twins, and dragged
Margery up the steps of the front porch.

"Oh, look at Margery's hair!" Gladys called out in virtuous
concern. "What _has_ happened? You _must_ tell us, Henry!"

Family shame might keep Henry's mouth closed, but Margery felt no
such restraint. She wanted Gladys to know! She wanted everybody
to know! So while Henry was freeing one hand of tin can and
seine, preparatory to opening the door, she twisted around until
she, could shout out the news to the listening world.

"I went in swimmin'!" she cried, shaking her muddied locks at
Gladys. "That's what!" She had to hurry, for Henry was already
pulling at the screen door. "With boys, too! With _boys_!"

Henry jerked her roughly into the house, but not before she had
heard the beginning of Gladys's unctuous comment: "Oh, how
disgraceful! Ain't Margery just too awful!" She also had time to
realize vaguely that, disgraceful though it was, Gladys seemed in
no haste to turn on the twins that cold glance of scorn which, by
all reckoning, should instantly have been forthcoming. Why