Patty went flying in to her own apartment in quest of Grandma.
“Oh,” she exclaimed, “we had a perfectly lovely meeting, and Mrs. Morse is a dear! She took us to the hospital in an omnibus, and we made all the little sick children laugh, and they enjoyed it ever so much, and so did we. I wish papa would come home; I want to tell him all about it.”
“He isn’t coming home to-day,” said Grandma Elliott, smiling at the excited appearance of her young charge; “you’ll have to wait until Monday before you can tell him.”
“Oh,” cried Patty, “he’s gone to Philadelphia! to see Nan! How do you know?”
“Yes,” said Grandma, “he has gone to Philadelphia, to stay over Sunday. He telephoned up from the office this morning, and then he came up for a few moments about noon. And he said for you and me to go out to Vernondale this afternoon, and stay until Monday, too.”
“Oh, goody!” cried Patty, clapping her hands; “I’m just perfectly crazy to see Marian, and all of them. Can’t we go right away, Grandma?”
“Well, we’ll go soon after luncheon. At any rate, we’ll get there by dinner-time.”
“Oh, no, Grandma, let’s go earlier, so I’ll get there in time to go to the Tea Club meeting. They’ll be so surprised to see me, and I can tell them all about the Grigs. It will be such fun!”
“Very well, then; go and brush your hair and make yourself tidy, and we’ll go right down to luncheon now. Then, if we’re spry, we can easily reach Vernondale by half-past three or four o’clock.”
“That will be lovely,” cried Patty, as she danced away to her room; “what a dear, good Grandma you are!”