"What do you think of this?" said Monica, that same Saturday afternoon, as she pointed to Jack, who was lying curled up on her rug. And Olive was astounded, as her friend knew she would be, at such an unexpected sight. "Oh! isn’t he a dear fellow?" she cried, rapturously, patting his head, and playing with his well-shaped ears, as Jack first sniffed enquiringly at the boots and dress of his young mistress’s friend, and then, with a wag of his stumpy bit of tail, sat down on the floor at her feet, and rested his head against her knees. "He is going to like me at once." "Of course, he is," said Monica; "it will be Jack’s business to like all my friends and hate all my enemies." "Oh, Monica, I don’t think you’ve got any enemies!" "Haven’t I?" enquired Monica quizzically; "what about Lily Howell?" "Oh, I forgot her," replied the other merrily; "and yet I ought not to have, for she’s been in such a temper all the week. She’s tried every way she can to get Elsa and me into trouble, and when she finds she can’t manage it, she’s in a worse tantrum than ever. I can’t think why she’s in such a mood," continued Olive, meditatively, "unless it is----" "Oh, I expect she’s huffy because Mr. Howell took me into his house," interrupted Monica, "and she wasn’t at home to see all that went on. But I don’t care a straw for her, or what she thinks; she’s too common and vulgar to think about. Now her mother is the dearest old creature," she went on, in quite a different tone; "she was as kind and nice as possible. And Harriet tells me she’s sent every day to ask how I am, and it was she who sent those lovely peaches and flowers. Do have a peach, Olive; they’re awfully nice." And Monica, taking one herself, pushed the plate containing them nearer to her friend. "How nice of her!" said Olive, taking a bite of the luscious fruit, while Jack looked up to ascertain whether she was eating anything that he could share. "No, you won’t like this, old boy," she said, with a merry laugh. "He can beg beautifully," said Monica. "When we’ve eaten these, I’ll put him through all his tricks." A merry quarter of an hour passed in watching Jack beg, and "trust for it," and "die," and "give three cheers for the king." Then, when he was tired, and lay curled up asleep on Monica’s couch again, the two girls had a thorough good chat about everything dear to their school-girl hearts, until a clock striking the hour of four warned Olive that she must be going. Monica begged her to stay to tea with her, saying: "Grandmother quite expects you to." But, much as Olive would have liked it, she was obliged to refuse, as she had promised her mother to meet Kathleen and the children at a quarter past, at a certain place, so as to walk home together.