“And I have two silver dollars I was commissioned to spend in the same way,” added Mrs. Williamson.
Mrs. Marley said she had the same amount in her purse.
“Of course, we wouldn’t dream of buying without first coming to see your clubroom,” she told the children; “and now we’ve seen it, the problem is worse than ever. You really have as much furniture as would be comfortable, and your decorations mean far more than any you could buy.”
“Don’t you think it would be a good plan,” asked Mrs. Larue, gently, “to put the six dollars in the bank, along with the club dues? Then, any time you wished to spend it, it would be waiting for you.”
The Riddle Club accepted this plan with enthusiasm. They were even able to understand something of Fred’s pride in the bank as the six shining round silver dollars slipped into the slip at the side and rang merrily against the other coins.
“We’re really getting wealthy,” said Margy, soberly.
Fred was so proud of the bank and the money in it that he was reluctant to leave it long enough to go downstairs at Mrs. Marley’s invitation, where hot chocolate and little sweet cakes were awaiting them as Mrs. Marley’s treat.
“Don’t lock the door, Ward,” Fred said, as they went downstairs. “I’ll come back and get the bank.”
Fred kept the bank in his own room, and usually he buried it under a pile of magazines in his clothes closet.
Margy’s seat in the dining-room was near the window, and, happening to glance out, she saw something that made her forget even the cake with the walnut in the center, which she had coveted when they first sat down.