ies and, thus,
encountered a brand-new love. Then Aunt Isabel was the kind of woman who
keeps big bowls of fresh flowers sitting around in all the rooms,
even if there's no party--a delightful habit. Missy was going to adore
watching Aunt Isabel's pretty, restless hands flutter about as, each
morning, she arranged the fresh flowers in their bowls.

Even in Missy's room there was a little bowl of jade-green pottery,
a colour which harmonized admirably with sweet peas, late roses,
nasturtiums, or what-not. And all the furniture in that room was painted
white, while the chintz bloomed with delicate little nosegays.

The one inharmonious element was that of Uncle Charlie's
indisposition--not only the fact that he was suffering, but also the
nature of his ailment. For Uncle Charlie, it developed, had been helping
move a barrel of mixed-pickles in the grocery department of his store,
and the barrel had fallen full-weight upon his foot and broken his big
toe. Missy realized that, of course, a tournament with a sword-thrust
in the heart, or some catastrophe like that, would have meant a more
dangerous injury; but--a barrel of pickles! And his big toe! Any toe was
unromantic. But the BIG toe! That was somehow the worst of all.

Uncle Charlie, however, spoke quite openly of the cause of his trouble.
Also of its locale. Indeed, he could hardly have concealed the latter,
as his whole foot was bandaged up, and he had to hobble about, very
awkwardly, with the aid of a cane.

Uncle Charlie's indisposition kept him from accompanying Missy and Aunt
Isabel to an ice-cream festival which was held on the Congregational
church lawn that first night. Aunt Isabel was a Congregationalist;
and, as mother was a Presbyterian and grandma a Methodist, Missy was
beginning to feel a certain kinship with all religions.

This festival proved to be a sort of social gathering, because the
Congregational church in Pleasanton was attended by the town's "best"
people. The women were as stylishly dressed as though they were at a
bridge party--or a tournament. The church lawn looked very picturesque
with red, blue and yellow lanterns--truly a fair lawn and "well
victualled" with its ice-cream tables in the open. Large numbers of
people strolled about, and ate, and chatted and laughed. The floating
voices of people you couldn't see, the flickering light of the lanterns,
the shadows just beyond their swaying range, all made it seem gay and
alluring, so tha