“Well,” said Louise, with a sigh, “I’ll try to drive over for a little while.  It is to be Saturday, you say?”

“Yes; the birthday’s Friday and the dance Saturday night, rain or shine.  An’ you might bring the chief editor, your husband, an’ try a dance with us.  It wouldn’t hurt our reputation any to have you folks mingle with us on this festive occasion,” she added airily.

They had a good laugh over this invitation when it was reported at Mr. Merrick’s dinner table, and Patsy insisted that Louise must write up the party.

“It will be fun to give it a ‘double head’ and a big send-off,” she said.  “Write it up as if it were a real society event, dear, and exhaust your vocabulary on the gowns.  You’ll have to invent some Frenchy names to describe those, I guess, for they’ll be wonders; and we’ll wind up with a list of ‘those present.’”

So on Saturday evening Arthur drove his wife over to the Sizer farm, and long before they reached there they heard the scraping of fiddles, mingled with shouts and boisterous laughter.  It was a prohibition district, to be sure, but old Sizer had imported from somewhere outside the “dry zone” a quantity of liquors more remarkable for strength than quality, and with these the guests had been plied from the moment of their arrival.  Most of them were wholly unused to such libations, so by the time Arthur and Louise arrived, the big living room of the farmhouse presented an appearance of wild revelry that was quite deplorable.

Molly welcomed them with wild enthusiasm and big Bill, her adoring brother, demanded in a loud voice if Arthur did not consider her the “Belle of Chazy County.”

“They ain’t a stunner in the state as kin hold a candle to our Molly,” he added, and then with uncertain gait he left the “reporters” with the promise to “bring ’em a drink.”

“Come, Louise,” said Arthur, quietly, “let’s get out of here.”

He drew her to the door and as a dance was just starting they managed to escape without notice.

“What a disgraceful scene!” cried Louise, when they were on their way home; “and to think of such a shocking carousal being held in good old Chazy County, where morals are usually irreproachable!  I shall not mention the affair in the Tribune at all.”

But Patsy, who had a managing editor’s respect for news of any sort, combatted this determination and begged Louise to write up Molly Sizer’s party without referring to its deplorable features.

“It isn’t policy to offend the Sizers,” she said, “for although they are coarse and common they have shown a friendly spirit toward the paper.  Moreover, the enmity of such people—­which would surely result from our ignoring the birthday party—­would keep us in hot water.”

So Louise, though reluctantly, wrote up the party and the manuscript was sent over to Miss Briggs Sunday afternoon, so it would get a place in Monday morning’s Tribune.