"It seems that the National Plant, Flower and Fruit Guild will distribute anything you send to it at 70 Fifth Avenue; or you can select some inst.i.tution you're interested in and send your stuff directly to it, and if you use one of these Guild pasters the express companies will carry the parcel free."

"Good for the express companies!" exclaimed Ethel Brown.

"Here's one of the pasters," and Roger handed one of them to Margaret while the others crowded about to read it.

APPROVED LABEL NATIONAL PLANT, FLOWER AND FRUIT GUILD, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

Express Companies Adams American Great Northern National United States Wells Fargo Western

WILL DELIVER FREE

Within a distance of one hundred (100) miles from stations on their lines to any charitable inst.i.tution or organization within the delivery limits of adjacent cities. If an exchange of baskets is made they will be returned without charge.

Conditions

This property is carried at owner's risk of loss or damage. No box or basket shall exceed twenty (20) pounds in weight. All jellies to be carefully packed and boxed. All potted plants to be set in boxes.

For _Chapel of Comforter_, _10 Horatio Street_, _New York City_.

From _United Service Club_, _Rosemont, New Jersey_.

KINDLY DELIVER PROMPTLY.

"Where it says 'For,'" explained Roger, "you fill in, say, 'Chapel of the Comforter, 10 Horatio Street' or 'St. Agnes' Day Nursery, 7 Charles Street,' and you write 'United Service Club, Rosemont, N.J.,' after 'From.'"

"It says 'Approved Label' at the top," Ethel Brown observed questioningly.

"That's so people won't send flowers to their friends and claim free carriage from the express companies on the ground that it's for charity," Roger went on. "Then you fill out this postcard and put it into every bundle you send.

Sender Will Please Fill Out One of These Cards as far as "Received by" and Enclose in Every Shipment.

National Plant, Flower and Fruit Guild.

National Office: 70 Fifth Avenue, N.Y.C.

Sender Town Sends to-day (Date) Plants Flowers (Bunches) Fruit or Vegetables Quarts or Bushels Jelly, Preserved Fruit or Grape Juice (estimated @ 1/2 pint as a gla.s.s) Gla.s.ses.

Nature Material To (Inst.i.tution) Rec'd by

Address Condition Date

"That tells the people at the Day Nursery, for instance, just what you packed and a.s.sures them that the parcel hasn't been tampered with; they acknowledge the receipt at the foot of the card,--here, do you see?--and send it to the 'New York City Branch, National Plant, Flower and Fruit Guild, 70 Fifth Ave., New York City.' That enables the Guild to see that the express company is reporting correctly the number of bundles it has carried."

"They've worked out the best way after long experience, Tom says, and they find this is excellent. They recommend it to far-off towns that send to them for help about starting a guild."

"Let's send our flowers to Mr. Watkins's chapel," suggested Ethel Blue.

"Della told me the people hardly ever see a flower, it's so far to any of the parks where there are any."

"Our women at Rose House were pathetic over the flowers when they first came," said Helen. "Don't you remember the Bulgarian? She was a country girl and she cried when she first went into the garden."

"I'm glad we planted a flower garden there as well as a vegetable garden."

"It has been as much comfort to the women as ours have been to us."

"I think they would like to send in some flowers from their garden beds to the chapel," suggested Ethel Blue. "I was talking with Mrs. Paterno the other day and she said they all felt that they wanted all their friends to have a little piece of their splendid summer. This will be a way for them to help."

"Mr. Watkins's a.s.sistant would see that the bunches were given to their friends if they marked them for special people," said Ethel Brown.

"Let's get it started as soon as we can," said Helen. "You're secretary, Ethel Blue; write to-day to the Guild for some pasters and postcards and tell them we are going to send to Mr. Watkins's chapel; and Ethel Brown, you seem to get on pretty well with Bulgarian and Italian and a few of the other tongues that they speak at Rose House--suppose you try to make the women understand what we are going to do. Tell them we'll let them know on what day we're going to send the parcel in, so that they can cut their flowers the night before and freshen them in salt and water before they travel."

"Funny salt should be a freshener," murmured Dorothy, as the Ethels murmured their understanding of the duties their president a.s.signed to them.

CHAPTER XIII

IN BUSINESS

It was quite clear to the Clarks that the "botanist" had not given up his hope of buying the field, in spite of the owners' insistence that not only was its t.i.tle defective but that the option had been promised to Mrs. Smith. He roamed up and down the road almost every day, going into the field, as the girls could see from their elevation in Fitz-James's woods, and stopping at the Clarks' on his return if he saw any of the family on the veranda, to inquire what news had come from their nephew.

"I generally admire persistency," remarked Mr. Clark one day to Mrs.

Smith and Dorothy, and the Ethels, "but in this case it irritates me.

When you tell a man that you can't sell to him and that you wouldn't if you could it seems as if he might take the hint and go away."

"I don't like him," and Mrs. Smith gave a shrug of distaste. "He doesn't look you squarely in the face."

"I hate that trick he has of brushing his hair out of his eyes. It makes me nervous," confessed the younger Miss Clark.

"I can't see why a botanist doesn't occasionally look at a plant,"

observed Dorothy. "We've watched him day after day and we've almost never seen him do a thing except push his stick into the ground and examine it afterwards."

"Do you remember that girl who was with him at the Flower Festival?"

inquired Ethel Brown. "I saw her with him again this afternoon at the field. When he pushed his cane down something seemed to stick to it when it came up and he wiped it off with his hand and gave it to her."

"Could you see what it was like?"

"It looked like dirt to me."

"What did she do with it?"

"She took it and began to turn it around in her hand, rubbing it with her fingers the way Dorothy does when she's making her clay things."

Mr. Clark brought down his foot with a thump upon the porch.

"I'll bet you five million dollars I know what he's up to!" he exclaimed.

"What?" "What?" "What?" rang out from every person on the porch.