Marcella finally agreed and when the stranger friend left, he placed Raggedy Ann in his grip.

“It is lonely without Raggedy Ann!” said the dollies each night.

“We miss her happy painted smile and her cheery ways!” they said.

And so the week dragged by....

But, my!  What a chatter there was in the nursery the first night after Raggedy Ann returned.  All the dolls were so anxious to hug Raggedy Ann they could scarcely wait until Marcella had left them alone.

When they had squeezed Raggedy Ann almost out of shape and she had smoothed out her yarn hair, patted her apron out and felt her shoe-button eyes to see if they were still there, she said, “Well, what have you been doing?  Tell me all the news!”

“Oh we have just had the usual tea parties and games!” said the tin soldier.  “Tell us about yourself, Raggedy dear, we have missed you so much!”

“Yes!  Tell us where you have been and what you have done, Raggedy!” all the dolls cried.

But Raggedy Ann just then noticed that one of the penny dolls had a hand missing.

“How did this happen?” she asked as she picked up the doll.

“I fell off the table and lit upon the tin soldier last night when we were playing.  But don’t mind a little thing like that, Raggedy Ann,” replied the penny doll.  “Tell us of yourself!  Have you had a nice time?”

“I shall not tell a thing until your hand is mended!” Raggedy Ann said.

So the Indian ran and brought a bottle of glue.  “Where’s the hand?” Raggedy asked.

“In my pocket,” the penny doll answered.

[Illustration]

When Raggedy Ann had glued the penny doll’s hand in place and wrapped a rag around it to hold it until the glue dried, she said, “When I tell you of this wonderful adventure, I know you will all feel very happy.  It has made me almost burst my stitches with joy.”

The dolls all sat upon the floor around Raggedy Ann, the tin soldier with his arm over her shoulder.

“Well, first when I left,” said Raggedy Ann, “I was placed in the Stranger Friend’s grip.  It was rather stuffy in there, but I did not mind it; in fact I believe I must have fallen asleep, for when I awakened I saw the Stranger Friend’s hand reaching into the grip.  Then he lifted me from the grip and danced me upon his knee.  ’What do you think of her?’ he asked to three other men sitting nearby.

“I was so interested in looking out of the window I did not pay any attention to what they said, for we were on a train and the scenery was just flying by!  Then I was put back in the grip.

“When next I was taken from the grip I was in a large, clean, light room and there were many, many girls all dressed in white aprons.

“The stranger friend showed me to another man and to the girls who took off my clothes, cut my seams and took out my cotton.  And what do you think!  They found my lovely candy heart had not melted at all as I thought.  Then they laid me on a table and marked all around my outside edges with a pencil on clean white cloth, and then the girls re-stuffed me and dressed me.