“Now, Jane, be rational!” begged Mary Louise.
The visitor seated herself upon the edge of the bed.
“All right, I’ll try.... What I came over about was to see whether you and Elsie can go with our crowd to that country fair tonight. We’re leaving early after supper, and Mother and Dad are both going along. You can take Freckles too—but not Silky. He might get into a fight with the cows or pigs or something.”
“Don’t insult my dog!” returned Mary Louise solemnly. “Silky never associates with pigs!”
“O.K.... Well, can you go?”
“We’d love to, but don’t you think we ought to take Miss Grant’s money back to her?”
“Not tonight, certainly!” was Jane’s emphatic reply. “Let her worry about it a little longer—it’s good for her.”
“But shouldn’t I go over to see her?” asked Elsie.
“Tomorrow’s time enough for that,” answered Mary Louise. “You can stay all night with me tonight.”
Mrs. Gay heartily approved of the plan, for she felt that both her daughter and Elsie needed a little diversion, and so for the time being the adventure at Dark Cedars was completely forgotten. Early after supper the young people drove off in four cars and enjoyed themselves thoroughly until nearly midnight.