Mr. Paul Shaw left the next morning.  “I’ll try and run up for a day or two, before the girls go to school,” he promised his sister-in-law.  “Let me know, as soon as you have decided where to send them.”

Patience was divided in her opinion, as to this new plan.  It would be lonesome without Paul and Hilary; but then, for the time being, she would be, to all intents and purposes, “Miss Shaw.”  Also, Bedelia was not going to boarding-school—­on the whole, the arrangement had its advantages.  Of course, later, she would have her turn at school—­Patience meant to devote a good deal of her winter’s reading to boarding-school stories.

She told Sextoness Jane so, when that
person appeared, just before supper time.

Jane looked impressed.  “A lot of things keep happening to you folks right along,” she observed.  “Nothing’s ever happened to me, ’cept mumps—­and things of that sort; you wouldn’t call them interesting.  The girls to home?”

“They’re ’round on the porch, looking at some photos Mr. Oram’s brought over; and he’s looking at Hilary’s.  Hilary’s going in for some other kind of picture taking.  I wish she’d leave her camera home, when she goes to school.  Do you want to speak to them about anything particular?”

“I’ll wait a bit,” Jane sat down on the garden-bench beside Patience.

“There, he’s gone!” the latter said, as the front gate clicked a few moments later.  “O Paul!” she called, “You’re wanted, Paul!”

“You and Hilary going to be busy tonight?” Jane asked, as Pauline came across the lawn.

“Not that I know of.”

“I ain’t,” Patience remarked.

“Well,” Jane said, “it ain’t prayer-meeting night, and it ain’t young peoples’ night and it ain’t choir practice night, so I thought maybe you’d like me to take my turn at showing you something.  Not all the club—­like’s not they wouldn’t care for it, but if you think they would, why, you can show it to them sometime.”

“Just we three then?” Pauline asked. 
“Hilary and I can go.”

“So can I—­if you tell mother you want me to,” Patience put in.

“Is it far?” her sister questioned Jane.

“A good two miles—­we’d best walk—­we can rest after we get there.  Maybe, if you like, you’d better ask Tom and Josie.  Your ma’ll be better satisfied if he goes along, I reckon.  I’ll come for you at about half-past seven.”

“All right, thank you ever so much,” Pauline said, and went to tell Hilary, closely pursued by Patience.  However, Mrs. Shaw vetoed Pauline’s proposition that Patience should make one of the party.

“Not every time, my dear,” she explained.

Promptly at half-past seven Jane appeared.  “All ready?” she said, as the four young people came to meet her.  “You don’t want to go expecting anything out of the common.  Like’s not, you’ve all seen it a heap of times, but maybe not to take particular notice of it.”