“I don’t know,” said Midget, thoughtfully; “you never can tell what Stella will do.  She may think it’s a great joke, and she may burst out crying.  She’s such a funny girl.”

In a moment Stella came down.  The janitor was with her, and opened the door for her.  As she saw the two Quaker figures her face expressed only blank bewilderment.

“Who are you?” she asked, bluntly.  “I haven’t any aunts in Philadelphia.”

“Oh, yes, you have,” said King, in his falsetto voice, “Don’t you remember your dear Aunt Effie and Aunt Lizzie?”

“No, I don’t,” declared Stella, and then as she showed signs of being frightened, and perhaps crying, Marjorie came to the rescue.

She hated to explain the joke before the janitor, but he looked good-natured, and after all it was only a joke.  So she threw back her head, and smiled at Stella, saying, “Then do you remember your Aunt Marjorie Maynard?”

“Marjorie!” exclaimed Stella.  “What are you doing in such funny clothes?  And who is this with you,—­Kitty?”

“No,” said King, “it’s Kingdon.  I’m Marjorie’s brother, and we’re out on a little lark.”

“How did you ever dare come here?” and Stella’s startled gaze rested on them, and then on the janitor.

The janitor was a good-natured man, but he felt that this performance was not in keeping with school discipline, and he felt he ought to send the children away at once.  But Marjorie smiled at him so winningly that he could not speak sternly to her.

“I guess you’d better run along now,” he said; “the principal wouldn’t like it if he saw you.”

“Yes, we’re going now,” said Marjorie, “but I just wanted to speak to Stella a minute.  We’re going to have a party, Stella, and I want you to come over this afternoon and tell us who to invite.”

“All right,” said Stella; “I’ll come right after school.  And now do go away.  If my teacher should see you she’d scold me.”

“She’d have no right to,” said King.  “You couldn’t help our coming.”

“No, but I can help staying here and talking to you.  Now I must go back to my classroom.”

“Skip along, then,” said Marjorie, and then turning to the janitor, she added, “and will you please ask Miss Molly Moss to come down.”

“That I will not!” declared the man.  “I’ve been pretty good to you two kids, and now you’d better make a getaway, or I’ll have to report to the principal.”

“Oh, we’re going,” said Marjorie, hastily; “and don’t mention our call to the principal, because it might make trouble for Stella, though I don’t see why it should.”

“Well, I won’t say anything about it,” and the janitor smiled at them kindly as he closed the door.

The pair went home chuckling, and when they reached the house it was nearly lunch time.  So they came to the table in their Quaker garb, and created much merriment by pretending to be guests of the family.