“Then I am assured of fame beforehand,” laughed Grace.

“Look!” said Nora suddenly.  “Who are those people coming across the orchard?  Doesn’t that look like Julia Crosby and some of her crowd?”

“Yes,” exclaimed Grace, “it is, and Miriam is with them.”

“Then help me get my aeroplane into the shed quickly,” exclaimed David.  “You know that the Crosby girl is not a favorite with me.”  Then he added half to himself, “I don’t see why Miriam insists on going around with her so much.”

The boys lost no time in getting the aeroplane into the house, David slammed the doors, and triumphantly turned the key in the lock just as Miriam and her party came up.

With a quick glance Miriam’s eyes took in the situation.  She bowed courteously to Mrs. Gray, whom she dared not slight; included Grace, Nora and Jessica in a cool little nod, and stared straight past Anne.  Then turning to her brother she said, “David, show Miss Crosby and her friends your aeroplane, they wish to see it.”

A look of grim determination settled about David’s mouth.  Looking his sister squarely in the face, he said, “I am sorry to seem disobliging but I cannot show your friends my aeroplane and I am surprised to find that they know I have one.”

Miriam reddened at this, but said insolently, “If you can invite other people to see it, you can show it to us.”

There was an uncomfortable silence.  Mrs. Gray looked surprised and annoyed.  The peaceful old lady, disliked scenes of any kind.  Grace and her chums, knowing that Miriam was only making herself ridiculous, felt embarrassed for her.  Then Julia Crosby laughed in her tantalizing irritating way.

That settled the matter as far as David was concerned.

“You are right,” he said, “I could show my flying machine to you and your friends if I cared to do so.  However, I don’t care to.  Knowing that I wished my experiment to be kept a secret, you came here with the one idea of being disagreeable, and you have succeeded.  I am sorry to be so rude to my own sister, but occasionally the brutal truth is a good thing for you to hear, Miriam.”

Miriam was speechless with anger, but before she could frame a reply, Mrs. Gray said soothingly “Children, children don’t quarrel.  David, it is getting late.  We had better go.  I suppose it is of no use to ask any of you athletic young folks to ride back to town.”  With a little bow to Miriam and her discomfited party, Mrs. Gray turned toward where her carriage awaited her, followed by David and his friends.

After bidding her good-bye, the young people took the road to town.  For David’s sake all mention of the recent unpleasantness was tacitly avoided, though it was uppermost in each one’s mind.

“I have one thing to be thankful for,” said Grace to Anne, as she turned in at her own gate, “and that is that Miriam Nesbit isn’t my sister.”

As for Miriam, her feelings can be better imagined than described.  She sulked and pouted the whole way home, vowing to get even with David for daring to cross her.  Julia Crosby grew rather tired of Miriam’s tirade, and left her with the parting advice that she had better forget it.