Timothy was glad to see Lucy and Dora come home. He looked fat, and Marion Baker said he had slept in the kitchen every night but one. On Wednesday evening he chose to visit his friends. But Timmy had evidently been lonesome, for he purred loudly and followed the children up to their room. As soon as the suit-case was opened, he got into it to see whether they had brought anything for him. Dora had done so. There was in the suit-case a stalk of catnip for Timothy. Some mail and papers were at the house and when Mother looked over the letters there was one for Dora from Miss Chandler, whom she called Aunt Margaret. Dora planned to answer the letter on Sunday. There was much to tell about the beach. Only, when she began to write, she thought of Arcturus and felt quite sad. When she spoke of him, Mother suggested that Dora should tell Miss Chandler how Arcturus had run away. It was right that she should know, because she gave Dora the little bear. To write about it in a letter was easier than speaking of it when she saw Miss Chandler, so Dora wrote what had happened and how sorry she was. Then she told her about the nice time at the beach, and what fun it was to sleep in a tent, and how she and Lucy rode home sitting on a roll of blankets in the back of the truck. When the letter was finished, Mother looked at it. She told Dora about one word which was spelled wrong and said that the writing looked neat. Then she told Dora how to direct the envelope and gave her a postage stamp from Father’s desk. Dora stuck the stamp on the proper corner and put the letter in the box on the post by Mr. Giddings’ drug-store. Then she came back to the house and read the “Story of Doctor Dolittle.” She thought it was one of the most interesting and funniest stories she had ever read. She tried to have Lucy enjoy it, but Lucy liked “What Katy Did” better. After supper that Sunday night, Dora followed Mother into her bedroom. “I have a plan,” she said. “Mother, you know Aunt Margaret told me that her birthday is the same as mine. Both are next Friday. I would very much like to make her a birthday present, Mother. You see she gave me Arcturus and the other little charms. And anyway, it would be nice, because she was so kind to us in the vacation school.” Mrs. Merrill thought this was a nice plan. She asked Dora what she wanted to give Miss Chandler. “I have twenty-five cents,” said Dora, “which I earned picking blackberries. I thought I could buy her some paper to write letters on.” “I think,” said Mrs. Merrill, “that Miss Chandler would like better a gift which you made for her. You know you did some cross-stitching for the bedspread this summer. Haven’t you still the paper with the pattern showing the colored squares?” Yes, Dora still had the paper pattern of the roses.