It took a long time for the phonograph to give up all that was inside its polished case, and before the entertainment was quite over Mr. Black came in. Bettie, eager to display her new acquaintance, hardly waited to greet him before introducing Henrietta. It was a pleasure, as well as a novelty, to have so attractive a friend to present. "This," said Bettie, proudly but a little flustered, "is my hen, Frenriet--I mean, my hen----" Bettie turned scarlet and stopped. The girls shrieked with delight. Mrs. Crane laughed till she cried. Mr. Black's roars of laughter drowned the phonograph's best effort. "I'm _not_ your hen," giggled Henrietta. "Not even your chicken. This settles _that_ name--I can't risk being mistaken for any more poultry." "She's Henrietta Bedford," explained Jean, wiping her eyes. "And how long," teased Mr. Black, "have you been keeping poultry, Miss Bettykins?" "About two weeks," giggled Bettie. "She's Mrs. Slater's granddaughter." "I don't like to seem inhospitable," said Mr. Black, a few moments later, "but it's beginning to snow, and the weather's going to be a good deal worse before it gets any better. If you start now, you'll be home before the snow begins to drift--there's a strong north wind and the thermometer's a bit down-hearted." The girls had removed their wraps and it took time to get into them. Also, Mrs. Crane, noticing that the girls were dressed for mild weather, detained them while she hunted up a silk handkerchief to wrap about Marjory's throat, a veil to tie over Bettie's ears and some warmer gloves for Jean. Henrietta and Mabel refused to be bundled up. The outside air was many degrees colder than it had been two hours earlier, and was full of flying snow. The wind came in gusts, yet there was something bracing and stimulating about the stirring atmosphere, particularly to Henrietta. "Oh!" cried she, "this is fine! Why can't we take a long walk? It's a shame to hurry home. I just love this. Isn't there somebody we can go to see? Hasn't anybody an errand?" "Ye-es," said Mabel, doubtfully. "We could go down to Mrs. Malony's. Mother told me this morning to get her bill, and I forgot all about it." "Mabel always has a few forgotten errands laid away," teased Marjory. "She can show you, too, where she found Rosa Marie--it's down that way." "I hope," said Henrietta, making a comical grimace, "that there's no danger of finding any more like her. But let's go. It's a shame to miss any of this." Going down the long hill toward Mrs. Malony's was entirely delightful, for the wind, of which there was a great deal, was at their well-protected backs; they fairly scudded before it, laughing joyously as they were swept along almost on a run. Going westward at the bottom of the hill was not so very bad either, for here the road was somewhat sheltered, though the snow was much deeper than the girls had expected to find it.