Mary Lee came home full of her afternoon\'s experience and could talk of nothing but Daniella. Accordingly, when Nan discovered that not only Mary Lee, but her Cousin Polly, and even the boys, showed an interest in the little mountain maid, she felt that she was rather out of it and begged Polly to take her up to the cabin when she should go with the red jacket. Jack and Jean, too, were greatly interested. Said Jean: "My Sunday-school teacher said I must try to make something for the church basket and that it would be sold for the home missions, but I am going to make it for Daniella instead, for I am sure she is a home mission, and I would thrice as soon she would have it. It is dreadful for any one to go barefoot in winter. I\'ve begun to crochet some lace and I will sell that and buy something for Daniella." So, thereafter, wherever Jean went, she carried her spool of thread and her crochet needle. Her length of rather soiled, somewhat uneven lace grew apace and she set her hopes upon selling it.
 
Jack took no such industrious means of showing her concern, unless one may consider her method an industrious one, for she called on various of the school children to come to a peep-show, one penny admission. Ten girls came, and with the proceeds Jack bought corn to pop. Nan helped her to turn it into delectable pop-corn balls which were so toothsome that Ran and Ashby bought most of them, and their boy friends were customers for the remainder, so with little labor Jack was fifty cents to the better and serenely watched her less quick-witted sister Jean patiently working her lace.

Nan and Mary Lee took a hint from Jack and conceived the plan of having a bazaar for the benefit of the little mountain girl. The boys fell in with the plan; some of the schoolgirls joined them and Cousin Polly Lewis herself offered to mother the scheme.

"It is very exciting," said Nan to Mary Lee when they had taken the first decided move. "I keep thinking of all sorts of things to do and of people to ask for contributions. Do you suppose, Mary Lee, it would do to ask grandmother? I shouldn\'t in the least mind asking Aunt Helen."

"I wouldn\'t ask them for the world," replied Mary Lee.

"But it isn\'t for ourselves."

[Pg 257]

"I don\'t care; it\'s asking just the same isn\'t it?"

"Yes, that\'s so, and I made up my mind never to ask them for the least thing."

"It\'s all very well to be friends with them, I suppose," said her sister. "I mean to be polite to them if I ever meet them, but I don\'t think we ought to place ourselves under obligations to them in the smallest way." Mary Lee evidently voiced her Aunt Sarah\'s opinions.

"Oh, well," sighed Nan, "then I won\'t, but I am going to tell them about Daniella. I was just thinking, Mary Lee, suppose Daniella won\'t take anything after we have had the bazaar for her benefit. What shall we do then?"

"Give the money for something else: home missions or traveling libraries or something. We shall have had the fun anyhow," a view of the matter which Nan regarded as very sensible. Mary Lee generally did have sensible advice to give.

"I\'ll make a lot of panuchee," Nan went on, "and I\'ll put black walnuts in some; nearly every one likes that kind best. I know the Academy boys will buy it, and that it will go off like hot cakes. Cousin Mag is going to send a fine cake and Miss Bouldin has promised one. Do you think it would be best to have a fancy table or just things to eat?"

Mary Lee considered the question. "It will be a [Pg 258]little more trouble to have the fancy table, but if we find people want to give things of that kind we can have it. We\'ll ask Cousin Polly."

"And where shall we have it?" said Nan. This was the most frequently discussed question and they had not, as yet, come to any satisfactory answer to it.

Mary Lee looked out of the window thoughtfully. "I am sure I don\'t know," she replied. "No one wants to give up a room big enough."

"If mother were only here," sighed Nan, "she\'d think of some place that would do; she always has ideas." Then suddenly the girl gave a little squeal and clutched Mary Lee\'s arm. "I know," she cried. "Why didn\'t we think of it before? We\'ll have nothing to pay for it and it will not put any one to inconvenience, and it will be as if we really had it ourselves as we wanted to do in the first place. We can use the old wing."

"Of course we can," said Mary Lee. "It will be just the place. There is plenty of room up-stairs or down. We can have the eatables in the library and the fancy things up-stairs in the room over it. Nan, that\'s splendid. Let\'s go straight to tell Polly."

They dashed out of the house and down the street to the Lewis\'s where Polly met them at the door.

[Pg 259]

"We have an idea," said Nan, breathlessly.

"I thought you must have something the way you came tearing," said Polly. "I\'m glad it isn\'t anything breakable."

Nan was too anxious to give her suggestion to notice the playful irony. "We\'re going to have the bazaar in the old wing of our house," she said. "It\'s empty and handy and——"

"Dirty," laughed Polly.

"It can be cleaned easily enough. Now, Cousin Polly, why will you laugh at it? Isn\'t it a fine idea?" Nan was aggrieved.

"It certainly is, Nan," returned her cousin. "I won\'t make fun, I really won\'t. What does Aunt Sarah say about it?"

"Oh, she won\'t care. We spoke of using our living-room first, you know, but she put her foot down, and when Aunt Sarah does put her foot down, she puts it down hard. You know there are four rooms in the wing beside the attic; we can use the two largest rooms for the tables and keep the supplies in the others."

Polly nodded. "We really could serve supper, or have a loan exhibit," she said reflectively, "and we might then be able to make quite a sum, but I reckon we\'d better not attempt too much. Maybe some other time we can do that. Yes, Nan, the [Pg 260]wing will be just the place. Now, let me see. You and Betty Selden can have the eatables and I will have Mary Lee with me at the fancy table. Jack and Jean can be flower girls and Ran can take the money at the door."

"Where can we get flowers at this time of year?" asked Mary Lee. "We don\'t want to buy them, do we?"

"Oh, everybody has a few house plants," returned Polly, "and there are still chrysanthemums in bloom out of doors. We can make up some very small bouquets and sell them for five cents apiece."

"What I want to know is exactly what we are going to do with the money," said Nan. "People ask me and I can\'t tell them."

"Why, it\'s for Daniella," said her cousin.

"Yes, I know; but she wouldn\'t take any when you offered it to her."

"Then we\'ll spend it for her in whatever way seems best. Where are you off to now?"

"We must tell Aunt Sarah what we have decided to do, and we have lots to do to get ready in time. I think I\'ll begin to clean the rooms at once," said Nan, eager for the fray.

"You\'ll do nothing of the kind," said Polly. "I\'ll come over to-morrow with old Achsah and get them [Pg 261]in order. I\'ll have to see about tables. I suppose some long boards supported on boxes would do."

"There\'s the joggle-board," said Nan, "we could use that." The joggle-board was a useful possession; it had been put up for the children\'s amusement in the first place, and was a very long, very tough, very limber board, the two ends of which securely rested on uprights. It gave in the middle to the weight of the body and as younger children, the Corners delighted to joggle on it; even now Jack and Jean sometimes entertained themselves by its springing motion, though it was more often used as a repository for anything that came handy. The milk pans sunned there, pies were set upon it to cool, tomatoes were placed there for ripening, seeds were spread out for drying.

Polly thought rather favorably of the joggle-board. "We\'ll try it," she said, "if it isn\'t too long to go in those rooms. I\'ll ask father where we can get some other boards. We can cover them with table-cloths and they will do very well."

"There are no other boards at our house," remarked Mary Lee. "Unc\' Landy uses up every bit and end to fix up the fences and roofs."

"We\'ll get some somewhere," said Polly.

The two girls ran home, eager to view the possibilities of the wing. They flung open the windows [Pg 262]of the deserted rooms, discussed their size, advantages and disadvantages.

"It will be as cold as charity," declared Mary Lee.

"Then we\'ll have to have fires, open fires will be cheerful, and we\'ll make the place as pretty as possible."

"My, how dusty the windows are; it\'s going to be a sight of work," said Mary Lee.

However, this matter was taken off their hands by Polly who pressed her friends into service and by the last day of the month all was ready. Pine branches and autumn leaves decorated the mantel; curtains were hung at the windows; the long tables up-stairs presented articles pretty, useful and dainty, while down-stairs was shown such an array of goodies that every schoolboy dived into his pocket the moment he entered the door. Packages of panuchee tied up in Japanese napkins were in great demand; caramels w............