"I wasn't dreaming," Edna contradicted, "I was just making up my mind. I might wear my Peter Thompson, only it might be too warm. I think I'd better go and ask Mrs. Ramsey." Suiting the action to the word she went to Mrs. Ramsey's door and tapped gently. Mrs. Ramsey herself opened to look down on the little figure in its pink wrapper. "Well, dear, what is it?" she said.
"I don't know just what to wear," Edna confessed. "You see mother always tells me. Dorothy thinks I ought to wear one of my white frocks and I think my gray linen would be better. I could wear [130]the Peter Thompson, but it is flannel and is pretty warm."
"Wear the linen by all means; it will be just the thing. You might take a little jacket of some kind and we can leave it at the station, in the package room, with my things. It may be cool coming back."
So Edna went off in triumph, donned her gray linen and was ready quite in time. She was too excited to eat much breakfast, and when they were told that Mack was at the door with the automobile she clutched her little handbag very tightly, for it contained the precious dollar which was to buy so many things that day. It was but a short distance to the station, but they were none too soon, for the train had whistled at the next station, and it seemed but a moment before they were aboard and on their way. The train was filled with men on their way to business, with ladies on their way to the city for a day's shopping, and there were a few who were bound for further places, their holiday over.
Edna, Jennie and Dorothy all sat together with Mrs. Ramsey a little further along in front. Edna wondered how the conductor would know who they were, for Mrs. Ramsey had a book of tickets. She thought maybe she would say, "I have the tickets for my little girl in the blue frock and the one sitting with her in gray, and there is another with fair hair dressed in white." Would the conductor think [131]they were all named Ramsey? She looked around her to see if there were any other little girls dressed in blue or gray or white, who might be mistaken for the right ones. But there was no trouble at all, for the conductor seemed to know intuitively and passed them by without so much as a question.
The big North station reached, the matter of shopping seemed very near, and there was some discussion as to where they should go first. Each little girl had determined to buy at least three dolls to dress; with the money that was left they would buy materials for fancy articles, for Mrs. Ramsey had promised them pieces enough for doll's clothes. The dolls being such a very important matter, it was decided to get these off their minds at once, and therefore to a big, though inexpensive shop they went.
Such a bewildering array as was laid before them nearly distracted them. There was such a choice between blue eyes and black, brown hair and golden. Then, too, it was not every doll that had a pretty face, or there might be two whose claims to beauty were equally great, but at last the nine dolls of different types were picked out. To these Mrs. Ramsey added three more on her own account, and that purchase was declared to be satisfactorily made.
Each little girl had decided to spend but half her money on dolls, though as Dorothy had but fifty cents to spend, her dolls did not make as much show as she would have liked, but the others comforted [132]her by saying that the small dolls were just as pretty as the large ones, and would probably be sold at once.
"I almost wish I had bought two little ones and two big ones," Edna said, "but I suppose it is too late now."
"If you had done that," said Jennie, "you couldn't have had the three shades of hair, and you did like those three so much."