"Oh, Janie, how _could_ you make me look so nice?" "I guess some of the good looks are your own, Randy," Janie answered, which caused Randy to blush most becomingly. Monday was a busy day at the farm-house, and Mrs. Weston had said, "I can't spare the time to go over to Janie's this afternoon, but she wants ye ter try on one of yer gowns and ye can run over there after school. She'll know whether it looks right or not without any help from me." So leaving Prue to trudge home with Johnny Buffum as an escort, she had experienced great delight in seeing herself for the first time in a dainty party gown. "Won't mother be surprised when I try on the pretty party dress for her to see?" thought Randy as she hurried on toward home. Like many another bit of gossip set afloat in a country town, the story of the letter from Boston together with descriptions of Randy's costumes gained with every repetition, until one day on the way from the Centre, Randy was astonished to be thus addressed, "Wal, how be ye Randy? I hear ye're havin' a tremenjous lot er gaowns made ter take ter Boston with ye." The speaker was a woman whom Randy had seen but a few times, and she was therefore surprised when the team stopped at the side of the road and its occupant accosted her. "It is true that mother is having Janie Clifton make some things for me," said Randy. "Wal, I live on the other side er the place," the woman continued, "an' so I'm a leetle out er the way er hearin' news, so I'd like reel well ter know; _be_ ye goin' ter have twelve gaowns, five cloaks, an' a half er dozen hats as they say ye be?" "No, that isn't true," said Randy, her flushed cheeks showing that she resented being thus questioned by a woman who was almost a stranger. Turning, she hurried on toward home, and the curious one, giving the horse a smart clip drove off muttering, "Gitting uppish 'fore she gits ter Boston. Do'no what she'll be when she's stayed there a spell." At school, her mates were glad that Randy was to have so delightful a winter, and many and varied were the comments and speculations regarding it. "It'll be stupid here without you, Randy," said Dot Marvin, "I don't know but that we shall all go to sleep, while you're a flyin' round in the city." "I don't expect to do much flying," said Randy, laughing. "I shall be working at school there instead of this school at home. You must all write to me and tell me what you are doing, and I'll be glad enough to answer you." "Indeed we will," said Reuben Jenks. "Let's write Randy a long letter, each one of us writing a part of it and send it along to Boston, just to show her what we can do when we try." "Oh, what fun!" said Randy, "it will seem as if you were with me when I read a long letter in which all my friends are represented." "Lemme print something in it, Reuben, will you? I want to be in the big letter, too," cried little Prue.