"Better not."

"Why isn't there an 'e' or a 't' in it?" remarked Janet. "I could make so many more."

Carolyn was writing fast and furiously. "Oh, give us five minutes more, so we can really _think_ on each letter!" she begged.

"Of course a girl will beat," said Chauncey. "They're so much better in English!" Chauncey was pretending to scratch his head and think. In reality he was too lazy to bother with a game he did not enjoy, though too polite to beg off. He had sixteen words and that was enough. He bet n.o.body else had "solo."

But Chauncey was right on the girls' having the most words. Several boys had twenty words in the five minutes, but the girls made a business of it and Kathryn Allen had the largest number, though Andy Sanford, who was on the staff of the school paper, came within two of her number, forty-five.

"How did you do it so fast, Kathryn?" asked Mary Emma.

"I just went lickity-cut in any old order till I got through the letters that way. Then I went back again and did a little thinking that time and had the other few minutes to do it in. I took _ly_ and _li_ and _lo_, and did the same way with all the letters."

"Did anybody else get _solo_?" asked Chauncey.

Alas, Kathryn had that, also _holy_, of which Chauncey had not thought.

A delicious odor of boiling syrup was commented upon by several. Louise, carrying the gla.s.s in which she had just tested the candy, came in to inquire who had the most words and how many. "All right, Kathryn gets the prize. Ted, _where's_ that prize?"

From the kitchen Ted appeared, hunting in his pocket for something.

"n.o.body said there was to be any prize. That's not fair," said Sim, grinning.

"Would you have worked harder, Sim?" Ted inquired. "Here it is, Kathryn," and he handed her a long, slim package tied with a blue ribbon. They all watched while Kathryn took the ribbon and tissue paper from what was so evidently a gift "of pencils. Two five centers, Kathryn," said Ted. "May they bring you to fame."

"You did well, Kathryn," said Louise. "Somebody got fifty at a senior party the other day, but I'm not sure but we had more time."

"Help me, Andy," said Kathryn, "and let's see how many we can get.

Please give me all the papers, so we can compare." Consequently, while Ted, accused of "licking his chops" over all the candy he was tasting, followed Louise out to the kitchen, and somebody started up the music again, Kathryn and Andy, helped by Betty, who gathered up all the other efforts, made a fairly full list. "I had just started on the s-h's,"

said Andy. A little later, after working as much out themselves as they felt like doing and comparing their papers, they announced that they could read what they had if any one wanted to hear.

_"Let's_ hear them, Andy," called Chauncey from near the piano. "How many words can the experts make out of the old school name?"

"Leaving out abbreviations, plurals, and odd words, here they are: _lying_, _lingo_, _lion_, _lo_, _log_, _loch_, _loo_, _loon_, _loin_; _yon_, _yo-ho_; _O_, _oh_, _on_, _oil_, _oily_, _only_; _no_, _nigh_, _noisy_; _high_, _ho_, _hog_, _hill_, _hilly_, _holy_, _his_, _hollo_, _holly_; _I_, _is_, _in_, _ill_, _illy_, _inch_, _inly_; _go_, _gill_, _gin_; _scion_, _shiny_, _shin_, _shy_, _si_, _sigh_, _sign_, _silo_, _silly_, _sill_, _sin_, _sing_, _sling_, _soil_, _solo_, _soon_, _song_, _son_, _sol_, _so_; _chic_, _chill_, _chilly_, _chin_, _cling_, _clog_, _cog_, _coil_, _coin_, _colon_, _con_, _colony_, _coo_, _cool_, _coolly_, _c.o.o.n_, _cosy_, _coy_and we forgot _lynch, shoo_ and _shooing_, and Andy says that _colin_ is another word for _quail_ and that _shoon_ is in the dictionary. So that's over eighty and pretty good, we think."

Chauncey started a mild applause and remarked that Andy and Kathryn would probably teach English some day.

"Not on your life," said Andy, "though I may run a paper at that!"

Mrs. Lee could not help wondering if every one would be careful not to drop his candy while it was in the process of being pulled, but she said nothing and provided plenty of greased receptacles. Ted and Louise started several other quiet games while the candy was getting to the proper temperature. Then they began to try a small portion.

"How many want to pull?" asked Ted. Every one wanted to try "just a little bit," which was well, or the supply would not have been sufficient. Those who had never pulled candy before were instructed, that there should be no sticky or slippery ma.s.ses clinging more unhappily than wet dough to the greased handsafter a great performance of hand-washing in the kitchen.

All this made much laughter and general merriment, not to mention certain antics of Ted and Harry and a few of the younger boys. But no one tried any "sticky" tricks, as Betty put it; for once upon a time, d.i.c.k had come home from a party with his hair full of taffy, horrible dictu!

In various stages of whiteness, the separate pieces of taffy were carefully laid upon the owner's saucer or plate, with a clean white label bearing the "name of the author," said Betty. Much had been eaten during the pulling, for some "preferred their taffy hot," they claimed; but each was to take a little home, to prove that they had pulled it, Ted said. Oiled paper would be in demand, thought Mrs. Lee, who hunted up a roll to have ready.

But the ice-cream had arrived. The big white cake was cut, also a loaf of fruit cake; and in the chairs which had been gathered up and brought to the front of the house with the appearance of the guests, the girls and boys sat to eat slowly the cold cream, enjoy their cake and lay the foundations of future friendships or cement those already formed. The high school "case" between Ted Dorrance and Louise Madison was not particularly serious in its outlook; for Ted, like many boys, was admiring a girl older than himself just now, but some demure young miss of a younger cla.s.s, or not in his school at all, was likely to take his later attention.

CHAPTER XII: A CHANGE OF PLAN

"Is this Mr. Gwynne's residence?" asked Betty, a little timid, for a deep masculine voice had answered her ring at the telephone.

"Yes," the response came, pleasantly.

"May I speak to Carolyn, please? It is Betty Lee."

"I'll call Carolyn." There was a few moments of waiting.

"'Lo, Bettykins. I was just going to call you."

"Were you? What were you going to tell me?"

"You say what _you_ were going to first."

"I'd rather not."

"Please."

"Well, though I just hate so to tell you what I'm going to."

"So do I hate to tell you!"

Betty's little laugh, came to Carolyn over the wire.

"Wouldn't it be funny if it is about the same thing! Why Carolyn, I'm just sick about it, but I don't see how we can come to your house tonight. Father has to have a conference or something tonight down town and can't drive us out to your place. He's staying down for dinner somewhere, you know. So there's no one to take us and Mother doesn't think it's safe for us to go on the car and then walk as far as we'd have to, especially coming home."

"That would be all right with our putting you on the car here. But really, Betty, it is a sort of relief, because I was wondering how to tell you that I can't have the party at all! Sister's having the house both nights, and besides, I was going to have you at least taken back home, so your father wouldn't have to come for you, but the cars will be in use, too. It was too bad of my sister not to tell me and Mother did not happen to say anything till this morning when she was asking my sister what she wanted for decorations. I said, 'Why, Mother, didn't you tell me I could have a party?' and Mother looked startled. 'Why so I did! I hope you haven't everybody invited!'

"So then I made it as nice for her as I could and said I thought I could change it to an afternoon one, and Betty, since you had that gorgeous party at your house, won't you let me have you and some of the other girls at our house Sat.u.r.day, tomorrow afternoon? Please. I've telephoned the _boys_ that my party had to be postponed, so this will be a 'hen party.' I'll have some sort of a party in the Christmas vacation, perhaps, to make it up to the boys, not to mention liking the fun myself.

"Will you mind _awfully_, Betty?" Carolyn's voice was both regretful and persuasive.

"Whyno, Carolynonly it isn't necessary for you to have us at all, you know, and I've invited all the other girls."

"I know how we can fix that, easy as pie, Betty. I'll call all of them upI know whom you were going to have, you know, and I'll tell them that you and I are entertaining together at our house!"

"We-ll, but you'll have to let me really help, you know, get the refreshments and everything."

"I'll see about thatthere will be such oodles around, with Sister's two parties, and we'll have all the benefits of her spuzzy decorations and won't hurt a thing, you know. Let's have it a thimble party. Didn't I see you making something for Christmas?"

"Yes. I brought a hanky I'm hemst.i.tching for Mother in school and worked on it a little while in between lunch and cla.s.s. It's so hard to get a chance without her catching me at it at home."

"Bring it along and finish it up, then, Betty. Is it settled, then?"