"Can I—can I do anything?" she managed to ask.
"No, no," said Betty cheerfully. "Don't get up. Mrs. Baxter wants to play golf and I'm going to lend her my bag. There!"
She caught up the bag and disappeared with it down the stair, while Hester, stunned by this sudden change of fortune, listened to the mocking rattle of the clubs.
CHAPTER X
HORATIO DISCOVERS A PEPPERMINT TREE
A charity bazaar, generally speaking, is an invention designed to mitigate the sufferings of the rich during the painful operation of removing a small portion of their superfluous wealth for the benefit of the poor.
Charity, however, to appeal successfully to the taste feminine, must come in various shades and styles, and each of the ladies of St. Timothy's parish had her pet shade. So it happened that the date of this bazaar had been fixed and most of the arrangements completed long before the good ladies had agreed upon the charity to be benefited.
It was only after several stormy meetings that, for the sake of peace, it was agreed to leave Charity out of the question. And then it was that the Bishop of Bunchester, by a happy inspiration, suggested starting a branch of the Progressive Mothers' Society at Ippingford and, as the expenses of stationery, stamps and the salary of a secretary must be met, the object of the bazaar settled itself without further discussion.
Thanks to the untiring energy and unfailing tact of Mr. Ferdinand Spooner, secretary of the Progressive Mothers' Society, the ladies of the committee were not only on actual speaking terms with each other, but were working harmoniously together for the great cause. Each of these ladies was happy in the consciousness that she had obtained, not through undue favor, but in recognition of her peculiar social preëminence, the table occupying the very best position in the hall. This also, it may be noted, was due entirely to the unfailing tact of Mr. Ferdinand Spooner.
Whenever Mr. Ferdinand Spooner was asked to admire any particular table, he praised it without stint, but he was ever careful to add that each of the tables was quite perfect in its own way, and, in the minutes of a subsequent meeting of the Progressive Mothers' Society, the resolution proposing that a vote of thanks be tendered to Mr. Ferdinand Spooner, for his untiring energy and unfailing tact, was moved, seconded and carried unanimously.