Lottie Sparks wiped her eyes and looked up sullenly.
"I—I'm—sorry," she said, as though the words choked her. "I was—mad about Kate's losing the match. I hardly knew what I was saying."
"That's all right," Sadie could be generous to a fallen enemy. "As long as you're sorry, I don't care. I guess none of the girls believed what you said, anyway."
"They certainly didn't act as though they did," Jessie said, with a grin.
Miss Romaine raised her hand.
"I would be sorry to believe any of my girls lacking in good sportsmanship," she said gravely. "Games should not be played so much for the sake of winning as for the sake of the game itself. I hear that you two girls," she looked from Nan to the sullen, fuming Kate, "played some excellent tennis this afternoon. You lost, Kate, but you must learn to take defeat with a smile. I want you to shake hands with Nan and congratulate her on her success."
CHAPTER XX
CAUGHT IN THE SWAMP
The closer friends of the three chums from Woodford declared afterward that they had been sure Kate would balk at shaking hands with Nan.
"I never thought she would do it," Nan herself said, in relating the incident to Jo afterward. "When I saw her come forward and take my hand, I honestly thought I'd faint! The surprise was almost too much for your Nan!"