"Let's have a dramatic club, and get up a play," suggested the fourth member of the group, who was seated on a dilapidated hair- covered trunk under the open window, regardless of the strong east wind which now and then lifted a stray lock of her long yellow hair and blew it forward across her cheek. "What a splendid idea, Florence!" said Jean, rapturously bouncing about in her seat on the foot of the bed. "How does that suit you, Polly?" "We might do that, for one thing," assented Polly cautiously; "but oughtn't we to try something a little--well, a little improving, too." "I'd like to know if that wouldn't be improving?" asked Molly. "It would teach us to act, and then, if we wanted, we could charge an admission fee and raise some money." "I think it would be splendid, girls," said Polly, in spite of herself carried away by the prospect, and forgetting her own plan. "What shall we take?" "Let's take 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,'" said Jean. "We could make it over into a play easily enough, and Florence would be just the one for Eva. Alan could be Uncle Tom, you know." "I think we could get something better than that," remarked Florence, in some disgust. "If I'm Eva, I'll have to die, and I don't know the first thing about that." "Oh, that's easy enough," answered Molly, with the air of one who had experience; "just stiffen yourself out and fall over. But I don't believe you could ever get Alan to act." "Why not take a ready-made play?" asked Polly. "It would save ever so much work." "What is there?" said Molly, sitting up to discuss the matter. "We don't want any Shakespeare," added Jean; "that's all killing, and Florence doesn't want to go dead, you know." "I'll tell you what, girls," said Molly, as if struck with a sudden idea, "we'll have an original play, and Jean shall write it." Florence and Polly applauded the suggestion, while Jean groaned,-- "I can't, girls. I never could in this world." "Yes, you can," returned Molly, who had firm faith in her friend's ability. "You go right to work on it, and you ought to get it all done in a week or two, so we can give it before school opens." "And we want just five people in it," said Polly. "I know I can get Alan to act, if Molly can't." Molly shrugged her shoulders incredulously, while Jean inquired, with the calmness of desperation,-- "What shall it be about?" "John Smith and Pocahontas," replied Polly promptly. "He almost gets killed, and doesn't quite; so that will get the audience all stirred up, but save the trouble of dying." "But that only needs three," observed Florence thoughtfully, "and there are five of us." "Doesn't he take her home to England, I'd like to know? There's a picture in the history where he shows Pocahontas to the queen. One of us can be king, and the other queen." "But at court there are always lots of people round," remonstrated Florence, with an eye to the truth of the situation.