This sally mercifully changed the subject, and beaches sandy, beaches rocky, or beaches shelly, were soon being discussed from as many view points as there were persons expressing them.
Mary beamed gratitude upon Gloria. It was her first unbending, and perhaps because the approval was not easy to obtain, Gloria appreciated it more fully. She twinkled understandingly.
“I hate to be a nuisance,” Mary said rather humbly, “but my hand must have been wet and the glass slipped. Do you report damages to the office?”
“Don’t you dare!” thundered Pat. She was now all primped and pretty and ready for the walk or hike, as she termed the proposed exercise scheduled for the afternoon. “If you start anything so honest as paying for a broken drinking glass, I would feel absolutely bound to tell who broke the glass dish——”
“Hush, Pat. You perpetual gabber. We all hated the dish. It was too small for cookies——”
“All right, Becky dear. Don’t get excited. I’m not on my way to the office.”
Gloria had gathered up the splints of glass and skillfully dropped them into the marshmallow box Mary held to receive them.
“You’re a dear,” murmured the pale girl. “But I shouldn’t have let you do it.”
“You couldn’t have stopped me,” retorted Gloria. “Don’t you know how stubborn I am? When I take a notion——”
“Come along,” interrupted Trixy in an undertone. “Going to hike, Mary?”