Marvellous was the effect of those few words on Sadie. Seeing a refusal on her mother’s lips, she burst out eagerly, “O mother, I want to go—I want to go! You must let me.”
Taken entirely by surprise, Mrs. Page hesitated—and was lost. What Sadie wanted, her mother wanted for her, and she saw that Sadie’s heart was set on accepting this invitation. “I suppose they might go, just for this once,” she yielded reluctantly.
Laura allowed no time for reconsideration. “I shall expect both of them then, on Saturday,” she said and turned to go. She longed to look back towards the kitchen where she felt sure that Elizabeth must have been wistfully listening, but Mrs. Page and Sadie following her to the door, gave her no chance for even a backward glance.
“Good-bye,” Sadie called after her as she went down the steps, and the child’s small foxy face was alight with anticipation.
Slamming the door after the caller, Sadie flew to the kitchen.
“There now, Elizabeth,” she cried, “I’m going to her house next Saturday and you’re going—you can just thank me for that too. Mother wouldn’t have let you go if it hadn’t been for me.”
Elizabeth’s face brightened, but there was a little shadow on it too. Of course it was better to go with Sadie than not to go at all—O, much better—but still——
When Saturday came Sadie was in a whirl of excitement. She even offered—an unheard-of concession—to wipe the supper dishes so that Elizabeth might get through her work the sooner, and she plastered a huge white bow across the back of her head, and pulled down the skirt of her dress to make it as long as possible. Sadie would gladly have thrown away three years of her life so that she might be sixteen, and really grown up that very night.
Olga was waiting at the corner for them, Miss Laura having told her that Elizabeth was to go. Her scathing glance would have had a subduing effect on most girls, but not on Sadie! Sadie did most of the talking as the three walked on together, but the other two did not care. It was enough for Elizabeth to be with Olga again, and as for Olga, she was half frightened and half glad to find a little glow of happiness deep down in her heart. She was afraid to let herself be even a little happy.
When the three entered the Camp Fire room Laura met them with an exclamation of pleasure. “We’ve missed you so at the Councils, Elizabeth,” she said, “but it’s good to have you here to-night, isn’t it, Olga? And Miss Sadie is very welcome too.”