The two girls walked on together in silence for a few minutes, and then Miriam said—
"Have you thought of what you would like for a new frock? The summer is getting on now, so it won't do to have anything too light."
"I'm not likely to get a new frock of any sort, light or dark," replied Fanny, in a grumbling tone.
"But you must," said her friend. "The one you wore on Sunday is getting too short for you, and the body is too tight. Oh, you must have a new one," concluded Miriam, in a decided tone.
"Mother ought to have let me have the one auntie sent," grumbled Fanny.
"It's no good crying over spilt milk," said Miriam. "The thing is just this. I want a new frock, and so do you, and if we could make up our minds to have them alike, my cousin could let us have them cheap."
"Your cousin?" repeated Fanny, with widely opened eyes.
"La, how you look!" laughed Miriam. She had forgotten all her anger and anxiety about the watch now, and was only anxious to arrange matters with Fanny so that she might call upon her cousin as she went home and ask her to get some patterns of dresses before the next Sunday, that she and Fanny might choose one.
"How is it your cousin can buy dresses so cheap?" asked Fanny.
"Because her husband is in the trade. He is at one of the biggest shops in the town. And my cousin being a dressmaker, she can get lining and everything cheap, so that she could make up your dress for very little more than it would cost you to buy the stuff."