"Picking up the things" was accomplished with neatness and dispatch, and five little Canarys, two Murphys, and Leo and Pius Coffee, picked up on the way, were seated in the shade of the Lee woodshed in solemn and somewhat embarrassed silence when Miss Billy appeared to welcome her guests. Her arms were full of scarlet and white reeds, a big basket swung from one arm, and a mysterious-looking cloth bag from the other. She glanced around the augmented group with such surprise that Launcelot felt called upon to explain. "I brung 'em along," he said, with a lordly motion of his hand toward the unexpected guests. "If you was goin' to give us something to eat, an' there ain't enough to go round, they kin go home." "Launkelot!" exclaimed Jinny. "The Levis wanted to come, too," said Fridoline. "Their mother's goin' to the sin an' God." "Goosey!" jeered Launcelot. "Sin an' God! He means synagogue. That's one on you, Frid." Fridoline, moved to tears by his brother's taunts, set up such a wrathful outcry that Miss Billy began to fear for her reputation as a hostess. "Never mind, Friddie," she said consolingly. "You may go and invite the Levi children to come now, if you want to. Hurry up, and we'll have something nice planned for you when you get back." Miss Billy deposited her burden on the ground. "I'm going to let you all help with my work," she said,--"every one of you, from Ginevra down to the Baby. These long strips are for baskets, and I'm going to show you how to make them for yourselves. The big basket is for a pattern, and the bag is full of flower seeds for the little ones to sort out, and take home for gardens of their own." The guests fell upon the work with great alacrity. "Wait a minute," protested Miss Billy. "We're not ready yet. We must always wash our hands before we begin to work." This announcement dampened the ardour of the children. "Them as sorts seeds don't need to wash, do they?" asked Fridoline. "I choose to sort seeds!" came in a chorus from the smaller guests. "Oh, yes, they do," responded Miss Billy decidedly. "Why not, Friddie?" "Dirt makes seeds grow," argued Fridoline. "Not till they're in the ground," returned the hostess. "We'll all go up to the back porch to wash. I've got some cool water up there." A thorough and painstaking scrubbing took place on the back porch, for Jinny, who was appointed Inspector of Persons, performed her duties with impartial vigour and energy. Her delight in the toilet soap was extreme, and she modestly requested a bit of it "to take home for a sample." Beatrice and Maggie watched the proceedings with disgust, and the children themselves did not look upon the occasion as one of unalloyed pleasure; but Miss Billy was resolute, and the entire throng were at least clean down to their necks and up to their wrists when they took their places on the grass. Fridoline surveyed his hands gloomily. "If I'd 'a' known I had ter wash I wouldn't have came," he said.