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“That tells the people at the Day Nursery, for instance, just what you packed and assures 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 assistant 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 assigned 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 title 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.