Inez looked at Polly's eyes, and saw the regret that they so plainly expressed.
She would have been pleased if her little playmates had never mentioned
Rose.
"And once," continued Polly, "we played that we were fairy queens, and we made flower crowns. It was early morning, and we tried to pick the flowers with the dew on them, but the dewdrops fell off. Then we sprinkled them with water from the brook, and they sparkled like diamonds."
Inez moved uneasily.
"We have fine times together," said Vivian, "but it was still brighter when Rose was here."
"Anybody'd think we couldn't play without her!" snapped Inez, springing to her feet, and running across the lawn.
Then realizing that she had been rude, and not wishing to offend Polly, she turned, and looking over her shoulder, she said:
"I must go home now, so I'll just hurry."
"Why, a minute a go she was sitting as still as if she intended to stay here all night!" said Vivian.
"It was what you said, Vivian, that made her run off," said Leslie.