The girls were waiting for Janet and Ruth. They were not disposed to work. They lolled about and laughed, and looked somewhat wistfully at the lovely outer world, with the flickering shadows on the grass, and the dancing, happy sunshine making itself felt through everything.
"Even a Fancy Fair is a bore," said pretty little Violet to her crony Nora.
"But then we are doing it for Tim," said Alice, raising her charming, sweet face, and blushing as she spoke.
"Yes," retorted Violet again; "I think of Tim all the time, and how nice it will be to collect money for the little darling, and how happy we'll be in the long vacation, when we remember how we saved the pet from going to the workhouse, but still I do want to bathe awfully to-day, and however hard I think of the good this Fancy Fair is going to do, I cannot help being lazy this hot weather."
"Did you know, girls," exclaimed Nora, "that Bridget can swim and dive? She made a bet yesterday in the school that if we dropped sixpence into the sea she'd bring it up again in her mouth. She did really; she was most positive about it. Mary Hill and Cissy Jones bet against her that she wouldn't, but she was so fierce, and said she had done it fifty times before in the lake at home. I do love Bridget, don't you, Violet?"
"Yes, I adore her," said Violet, "she's quite the jolliest girl I ever came across. I'm awfully sorry she has got into trouble, and I hope Mrs. Freeman will soon forgive her. Poor dear, she doesn't mean to do wrong, and she is such fun."
"She's like a big baby," said Alice; "but all the same, it is wrong of her to bet, isn't it?"
"I don't know," replied Violet; "the way Biddy does things makes them appear not a bit wrong. I should like awfully to see her bring up that sixpence in her mouth. But hush, let us pretend to be talking of something else, for here comes Janet and that nasty Olive."
"Janet is really very nice about this fair," said Alice; "but she hates Biddy, and she has always hated darling Evelyn; it is so funny!"
"O Alice, do shut up," exclaimed Violet. "Here's Janet coming in. Let's pretend to be talking of something else."