Mrs. Horton sniffed.

"d.i.c.k Harriman never gave twenty-five dollars to anything like this in his life," she said.

"Well, here is his check," declared her son.

"So _that_ is where the fifty came in," said Rosanna, finding her voice.

She repeated the conversation she had heard. Everybody laughed.

"Poor d.i.c.k!" said Mrs. Hargrave. "He doesn't feel well, and his bark is so bad that I doubt if anyone ever before stopped to see what his bite was like until Rosanna tried. I reckon he is happier tonight than he has been for a long while. He would think it was a great joke, too, to cajole Henry Bristol and Clinton Cosgrove into giving that money. Well, they can afford it many times over, so it will do them all good."

"Too bad Rick MacLaren isn't here," said Uncle Robert. "He has a sick patient on hand, and couldn't come. I will tell him the first thing in the morning."

"And these girls _must_ go to bed," said Mrs. Horton. "Are you going to stay with Rosanna, Helen?"

"I think I will just have to go home and tell mother and father about it if there is any way for me to get there," replied Helen.

"If Miss Hooker feels like the extra walk, we will take you on our way to her house," said Uncle Robert eagerly.

"I would love it," said Miss Hooker obligingly.

Rosanna marvelled.

Miss Hooker lived blocks away from Helen, in the opposite direction, but as the older people said nothing, Rosanna kept silence. At all events the benefit was over, and her Uncle Robert would no longer feel obliged to spend all his time with a mere girl, because no matter how lovely, Rosanna knew that he didn't care for girls.

A number of girls ranging in age from twelve to sixteen were busy repeating in a number of homes that night just how they had felt at different times during the evening, and explaining to less fortunate brothers and sisters how good everything had tasted afterwards. And Sunday morning, a great many mothers had a difficult time getting their Girl Scout daughters awake.

Rosanna had a long talk with Uncle Bob. She wanted to know what was going to be done about the money.

"I have been thinking about that," said Uncle Robert. "I will put it in the bank the first thing tomorrow morning. I shall put it in the office bank for safe keeping until then."

"Do you suppose it will take all of it for Gwenny's operation?" asked Rosanna.

"No, I do not," Robert replied, "but of course Doctor Branshaw is a very high priced specialist, and he sets his own fees."

"If he knew that Gwenny was a poor little girl and that the Girl Scouts were taking care of her, I wonder if it would make any difference?"

Uncle Robert shook his head. "I don't believe I would ask a favor of anyone, now that you have earned such a lot of money. Just go ahead and pay her way like good sports. At that, with the hospital charges and nurses paid, I think you may have a little left over. If we have, we will have to find the best way to spend it for Gwenny. I want to consult with Miss Hooker about it later if she is not too tired."

"Consult again! Oh, _poor_ Uncle Robert!" said Rosanna compa.s.sionately.

"I thought that was all over with."

"It is not as painful as you seem to think," said Uncle Robert dryly.

"At all events, my health is not breaking under the strain. I never knew you to fuss so, Rosanna. Just what have you up your sleeve anyhow? Don't you like your Captain after all?"

"Oh, I perfectly _love_ her," cried Rosanna warmly. "You don't know how sweet she is, Uncle Robert! And she is such a good Captain. Every girl in the patrol loves her and will do anything in the world for her."

Seeing that Uncle Robert appeared to be listening, Rosanna went on warming to her subject.

"At the Rally, I heard one of the ladies say that our Captain was considered the best one in all the city. And she looks so young; just like one of the girls when she gets into her Scout uniform. When we are on hikes, she runs around and plays with us and joins all our games. Oh, yes, Uncle Robert, I do love her dearly!"

"I don't know but what I do myself," admitted Uncle Robert unexpectedly.

"Why, Uncle _Robert_!" said Rosanna in a shocked tone. "What a thing for you to say!"

Uncle Robert wondered if he had made a mistake. It was not the sort of a remark he would want repeated. So he made another mistake.

"Wasn't it? A joke, Rosanna; just a merry jest. Thought you would laugh over it. Ha ha! Ha ha!"

"Ha ha!" repeated Rosanna to be agreeable. Sometimes Uncle Robert was rather disappointing. "But she is lovely anyway, and has loads and loads of friends, and, Uncle Robert, I think she has a sweetheart because boxes and boxes of flowers come to her, and she just keeps a little one to wear, and sends all the rest to the hospital. And lovely books come by mail and the fattest letters! One had poetry in it, too. I could tell by the shape of the writing down the page."

"Don't snoop, Rosanna," said Uncle Robert sharply.

"I didn't, Uncle Robert," said Rosanna in a hurt tone. "She was sitting close to me on the sofa, and I couldn't help seeing. She liked it too, because she smiled so sweetly and showed all her dimples, even the one that almost _never_ comes out."

"What a little ray of sunshine you are, Rosanna!" said her uncle strangely.

"Thank you; a Girl Scout _ought_ to be," replied Rosanna.

"Well, you are, all right, sweetness," said Uncle Robert. He sighed deeply almost as though the ray of sunshine had not come his way at all.

He kissed Rosanna and then sat her down rather hard in a deep chair. "I don't know when I have felt so cheered up. And now, if you would like to call the garage and order the little car for me, I will go around to see Doctor MacLaren and tell him the good news of our fortune. And on second thoughts, I don't believe I will have to consult with Miss Hooker at all. I think perhaps you are right. I have bothered her enough."

"She has been _very_ polite and kind about it all, hasn't she?" asked Rosanna.

"Most polite and kind," Mr. Horton agreed. "But we don't want to wear her kindness out, do we, Rosanna? I will go see Rick, and in a day or two my part of this affair will be finished. And I won't have to bother anybody. I am thinking of a little trip out West, Rosanna. I wish you could go with me."

"I wish I could!" said Rosanna, "but grandmother wouldn't want me to leave school, and besides I couldn't leave the Scouts just now. Where do you think of going, Uncle Robert?"

"Nowhere in particular, unless--" he thought a moment. "It might be fun to look up some place where they had never heard of the Girl Scouts."

"Perfectly splendid!" said Rosanna. "_That_ would be doing a good deed.

You could tell the people about us, and start a patrol. I must tell Miss Hooker about this; she will think it is so nice of you. She appreciates kind acts, even if she doesn't like men."

"It is not worth mentioning, Rosanna," answered Uncle Robert. "Besides, I didn't have just that in mind. However, I hear the car and will leave you before--before I do anything I regret."

He went off, and Rosanna watched him through the window as he started his car. He was real jerky with it, and it sputtered and missed, and went off with a leap.

"He is all tired out," thought Rosanna.

CHAPTER VIII

Time pa.s.sed, a great many things happening. Gwenny, accompanied by her mother (there being plenty of money for everything), was taken away to the place of her great trial. When the question arose as to what should be done with Mary and Tommy and Myron and Luella and Baby Christopher, Rosanna thought of Minnie, always so good and kind. She went to see her, and the result was that Minnie volunteered to stay at Gwenny's and run the little house and take care of the children as long as Mrs. Harter was needed in Cincinnati. Both Doctor MacLaren and Mr. Horton went with Mrs. Harter and Gwenny, and made the journey as comfortable as they possibly could. The great Doctor Branshaw, after seeing his patient, said that she must have at least a week of rest under his own eye before he would be willing to try the operation. So Gwenny was settled in a sunny room at the hospital where she at once became the pet of the ward and Doctor MacLaren and Mr. Horton came home.

Late in the afternoon, the very next Sunday, Mr. Horton came into the house looking the picture of gloom. He scarcely spoke to his mother and Rosanna but rushed up to his room and immediately there was a sound of things being dragged around, and many footsteps. And the door opened and shut a great many times. Mrs. Horton wondered what that boy was up to now and went on reading. But Rosanna listened with a black suspicion growing in her mind.

And, sure enough, Mr. Horton came down presently to announce that he was going away for a few weeks. He was getting stale, he said, and needed a little change. When he saw Rosanna's round eyes fixed on him, he looked away but repeated that he felt stale.