"Whatever day suits you best."
Miss Phillips went to her desk and consulted an engagement pad.
"How about Friday—a week from to-morrow?" she suggested. "Then, if it should rain, we could go Saturday."
"Fine!" concluded Marjorie, rising to go. But Miss Phillips detained her for a moment.
"Marjorie, I want to thank you for your lovely gift. It was sweet of you to do all that work for me."
The girl smiled, delighted that her favorite teacher was pleased. In fact, Miss Phillips was not only her favorite teacher, but the only one in whom she took any interest.
"I'm glad you liked it, Miss Phillips," she said, as she turned to leave the office.
Marjorie and Ruth rode home in the train together. As soon as the girls were away from Miss Allen's, and there was no longer any rivalry raging between them, Ruth became her old self again, and expected to have Marjorie once more as her best friend. But Marjorie was not to be so easily won.
"Mother writes that there's a new family moved in next door to us," remarked Ruth, "and she says that the son—a boy a little older than we are, seems very nice. I thought maybe I'd ask him over some night during Christmas week, if you and Jack can come, too. We could play bridge, and dance a little."