“It’s just come by express, Miss Ruth,” said John, “and ’twas labeled Town Hall, so Mrs. Hamilton thought you’d better open it here.”

“Help me open it, some one, please,” begged Ruth, and as the top boards were quickly ripped off, she took out first a letter from New York in Uncle Jerry’s writing.

“Dear Ruth” (it began): 

“I have just stumbled on a little shop devoted to souvenirs of Switzerland.  The proprietor has a bad attack of homesickness, and can’t stand New York any longer, so he is selling out at a sacrifice.  It occurred to me that I might kill two birds, etc., by contributing to the good cause at Glenloch and helping this poor fellow at the same time.  I thought you might make a little something by selling them for any price you can get.

“I shall probably get there almost as soon as the box, so won’t stop to write more.

“Yours with love, Uncle Jerry.”

Ruth had an interested audience as she unrolled some of the packages and peeped into others to see what they contained, and could he have heard the enthusiastic comments Uncle Jerry would have felt still more sure of his place in the hearts of his Glenloch friends.

“It’s wasting time to look at them now,” said Ruth with a sigh.  “We must arrange a table and put them on it this afternoon.”

“What a pity that we couldn’t have some one in Swiss costume to sell them,” suggested Charlotte, who had paused in her work to take one look.

Ruth took in a quick breath as the idea struck her.  “Do you suppose Mrs. Perrier,—­or Marie,” she thought aloud.  “Why, Marie might even feel well enough to come herself if we sent for her and sent her home.  Couldn’t some one, couldn’t you, Arthur, ride over and ask her?”

“Why, yes,” agreed Arthur, hurrying after John to tell him to bring Peter Pan to the hall.  He came back again in a minute to find Ruth and say coaxingly: 

“Say, Ruth, John’s got the carriage outside here, and why can’t you just slip out and drive over with me?  It’ll do you good to get away from this noise and confusion for a while.”

“Oh, I can’t, possibly.  It would be mean when the others are working so hard.”

“You’ll be back before they know you’re gone,” pleaded Arthur.  “It’ll do you so much good that you’ll be able to work a great deal faster,” added the wily youth.

“Go away, and don’t tempt me,” laughed Ruth.  She started to leave him, but turned back to say earnestly:  “Let’s make Charlotte go with you.  She’s got a splitting headache, and she won’t be fit for anything to-night if she doesn’t rest for a while.”

Arthur felt that he hadn’t got quite all he was asking for, but he fell in with Ruth’s idea cheerfully, and their united arguments persuaded Charlotte to go for the restful drive through the wooded roads.

They were back almost before Ruth could realize that they had started, and announced with an air of triumph that Marie would be delighted to come, and that Mrs. Perrier had a costume which could easily be made to do.