THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
361 
her own dining-room, and the three boys had quite a 
homelike dinner with Miss Spicer to preside. 
Laura Edmonds ate a quiet dinner with Miss Chandler 
at twelve, but rather disappointed that lady by her mea¬ 
gre appetite, for Laura had said nothing to her about 
the other invitations. After dimier Laura helped her 
hostess to clear away the things, and set everything in its 
usual order, and then excused herself on plea of an 
engagement. She repaired to Mrs. Ryder’s, where she 
met a hearty welcome, and was soon partaking moder¬ 
ately of a second dinner. 
Dinner was over and the young people were in the 
midst of a game of Crambo, when a violent ring at the 
door was followed by a merry peal of laughter and a 
gay chatter of voices, and Mrs. Ryder ushered Kitty 
Deming into the room. Kitty had caught up Laura’s hat 
and shawl from the hall-table and advanced into the 
room, saying merrily: 
“ Good day, good people ! Am sorry to interrupt your 
game, but mamma sent me to fetch Laura, and you 
know I always.obey my mother,’’ which audacious 
untruth was nullified by the twinkle in her mischiev¬ 
ous eyes, as she set Laura’s hat on the head of its owner, 
threw her shawl over her shoulders, and amid exclama¬ 
tions and expostulations from all concerned, made her 
own and Laura’s adieux and hurried the latter out of 
the house. 
“How can you act so, Kitty?” said Laura as they 
reached the sidewalk. “You did not give me a chance 
to say good-bye to any one.” 
“It is the easiest way m the world to act,” replied 
Kitty, “and never mind about the good-byes, I said 
enough for a dozen of us, and they all know me ! Now 
trot lively and shake down those dinners in readiness 
for another !” and Kitty grasped Laura by the arm and 
suited the action to the word. Half laughing and half 
protesting, half running and half walking, the reluc¬ 
tant yet amused Laura soon found herself at Mrs. 
Demings, where she was always a welcome guest. 
Just as dinner was announced Mrs. Deming remarked 
in a tone of regret: 
“I wish I had thought to invite your cousin Tom, 
Laura, the rules are so strict that I suppose you seldom 
have a chance to speak with him. And there are but 
seven of us ; he would just make up an even number at 
table.” 
“And there he is now, just passing our very 
door !” cried Kitty, rushing wildly from the house, and 
waylaying the young man, while her mother and Laura 
laughingly watched her from the window. They were 
accustomed to her pranks. 
There was a brief but exciting confab, during which 
Tom evidently tried to escape, but Kitty had taken him 
tightly by the arm and half led, half dragged the 
reluctant victim into the house. 
“There!” exclaimed Kitty, as she entered the 
parlor triumphant, “ that was real hard work ; mamma 
is always saying that I don’t like to work and that I am 
of no sort of use to the community ; but I’m always 
achieving some great thing or other that the rest of you 
couldn’t possibly do ! There take your cousin Laura 
out to dinner, young man, and be thankful for your 
mercies !” 
“ Laura, my dear,” said Mrs. Deming, as they 
sat down at her bountifully spread table, “ you’ll 
have to excuse the turkey ; he decided to be eaten else¬ 
where ; at least he disappeared mysteriously about the 
middle of the forenoon.” 
“ Some of those heartless students stole it, no doubt,” 
chimed in Kitty ; ‘ ‘ only think what heartless wretches 
they must be to rob the widow and the fatherless !” 
As the sparkling Kitty and her smiling mother 
presented every token of being a well-to-do and pros¬ 
perous couple, this appeal for sympathy was met with 
derisive laughter by the boarders, but Tom Rollins was 
observed to be very red as to his complexion and 
confused as to his manner. Kitty speedily observed 
this, and with mischievous intent, exclaimed: 
“ Do see how Tom blushes. I verily believe he is the 
culprit ; I mean to run right up after dinner and ask 
Miss Spicer if she has smelled turkey to-day. I know 
she bad none, for she told me the other day she couldn’t 
afford one.” 
Then Laura began to rally him. 
“ Ah, Tom, that accounts for your reluctance to come 
in when Kitty asked you. No wonder you didn’t want 
to face Mrs. Deming if you stole her turkey ! I don’t 
wonder you blush.” 
“ I thought 'torn looked stouter than usual,” remarked 
the fat student. 
“ Shall I give him that thrashing now, Mrs. Deming ? 
asked the lean little student, laying down his knife and 
fork and beginning to roll up his sleeves. 
“Never mind their fun, Tom,” said Mrs. Deming, 
compassionating his flushed face and embarrassed man¬ 
ner. “I shouldn’t be at all surprised if they knew 
where that turkey went to better than you or I do; I shall 
keep my ears open to-night after these young men go to 
their rooms, and if they have a midnight collation, I 
shall be sure to smell it.” 
“ I didn’t know before that your sense of smell was 
located in your ears, mamma,” said saucy Kitty. 
But Tom Rollins felt as if every mouthful he ate 
would choke him, and he had really eaten too much of 
Mrs. Deming’s turkey to have any appetite left under 
the best of circumstances. But, seeing that he made 
no progress with his dinner, Kitty and Laura, little 
dreaming that they were but telling the truth, declared 
that they- considered his lack of ability to eat as positive 
proof that he had made way with that turkey. Thus 
driven into a corner poor Tom renewed his efforts to do 
justice to Mrs. Deming’s dinner, which, notwithstand¬ 
ing the loss of the turkey was still varied and abundant. 
He didn’t know whether he felt most like a criminal or 
a martyr. 
Music and lively conversation occupied the evening, 
and at half-past nine they separated. Laura, not being 
allowed by the rules of the school to avail herself of 
Kitty’s magnanimous offer of an escort, accepted instead 
an invitation to spend the night with that young lady. 
The boarders went to their rooms, and Tom Rollins, 
with a fervent sense of relief, found himself at liberty 
to return to Miss Spicer’s protecting roof. But Tom was 
far from being in an enviable condition of mind or body. 
The turkey had been too much for him, and rested as 
uneasily on his stomach as on his conscience. 
So it is not to be wondered at that, after an hour or 
two of uneasy and fitful slumber, accompanied by 
frightful dreams, he awoke really sick. His chum, Bill 
Cutting, not knowing what to do for him, would have 
called Miss Spicer to the rescue, but Tom declared that 
if she appeared at the door he would throw himself out 
