Lois watched for her papa's
pleasant moods. Veva danced up to her father, put her arms around his
neck, and lifted her mouth for a kiss, coaxed him for some money to give
away, which she always received directly. Others of the girls were at a
loss what to do.
Jeanie and Linda had a happy thought, which they carried out. They said:
"We have learned how to make bread and biscuits and cake and candy, and
we all know how often our friends cannot persuade cooks to stay in their
houses. We will make bread or cake on Saturday mornings for anybody who
is good enough to pay for it."
They could not see why it was not just as sensible a thing to make and
sell good bread as to paint scarfs or embroider tidies, and mother,
after she heard of their proposal, quite agreed with them.
Through our efforts, combined as they were, we sent our little girls to
Kindergarten, kept warm shoes and stockings on their feet, and brought
them up respectably, though Jack Roper was as odd and indolent as ever,
and never showed by so much as a look that he imagined anybody took an
interest in his children.
CHAPTER VIII.
WE GIVE A RECEPTION.
Everything pleasant comes to an end, even pleasant vacations, and when
the golden-rods were bowing to the asters, like gallant knights to their
ladyloves, and the red sumachs were hanging out the first flags of
autumn, we girls had to think of school once more.
The books which had been closed for almost three months beckoned us
again, and delightful as the Clover Leaf meetings had grown, we knew
that for the next nine months we should hold them only on Saturdays,
perhaps not always then.
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