“Me!” gasped Bess Harley. “Nan would never have thought of having a supper but for me.”
“But I chose this place for it, and it was my money paid for it,” cried Nan.
“How much did it cost?” asked Mrs. Cupp, briskly.
“More than twenty-five dollars,” confessed Nan, blushing.
“Mercy on us! What extravagance!” cried the matron. “You shall be punished for that, if for nothing else, Nancy Sherwood,” and she got up quickly. “Now, girls, is there anything left?”
“Some cream and cake, Mrs. Cupp,” Amelia promptly announced.
“Take it up to the Hall for Susan and the other maids,” ordered the matron. “Miss Sherwood, Miss Harley, Miss Polk and Miss Boggs may come down here some time to-morrow and clean up. I will speak to Dr. Prescott about the punishment to be meted out to the chief offender. She will be vexed about it, I have no doubt.”
Laura sidled up to her as the matron prepared to set forth with the truants for the Hall, and whispered:
“But wasn’t that mayonnaise lovely, Mrs. Cupp?”
“You cannot cajole me, Miss Polk,” the matron said.