"Go along now if you must, Philip," said Miss Priscilla. "And I do thank you, dear boy. We shall miss you every minute. Give my love to your grandmother. I wish she could get up as far as this. You tell her so." "All right, I will. Do you know where Miss Wilbur is?" "Aha!" said Veronica softly. "I don't want to go without saying good-bye to her." "I should hope not," jeered Veronica. "I suppose you won't see her again all summer." "Oh, yes, I shall, unless Barney Kelly cuts me out." "Sure, it's Oirish he is, thin?" "Faith, and he is, and a bit chipped off the original blarney stone at that. Trust him not, Veronica." "I only hope I'll get the chance, but if you're going to set him on the goddess, what sort of a look-in will I have? I've got five on my nose already." "Five what, woman?" "Freckles. Can't you see them from there? It will be fulsome flattery if you say you can't." Philip squinted up his eyes and came nearer to examine. "You remember what I said. Tell Barney they're beauty spots--'golden kisses of the sun.'" "Oh, ain't that pretty!" shouted Genevieve. "I'm speckled with 'em jest like a turkey egg, but I don't mind 'em the way Veronica does. I've got some powder at home and I powder over 'em." "At your age, Genevieve!" exclaimed Philip sternly. "What shall I do with the extravagance and artificiality of this generation! Don't you know, Genevieve, that the money you spend for powder should go into the missionary box? You poor, lost, little soul!" Genevieve giggled delightedly, and Miss Burridge, at the window, exclaimed: "There's Miss Wilbur now, Phil, looking at the garden bed." "If I were she," said Veronica, "I wouldn't have a word to say to you after the way you wasted last evening." "If only she thought so, too!" groaned Philip. "But I'm not in it with her astronomy map for June. She is a hundred times more interested to know where Jupiter and Venus are than where I am--natural, I suppose--all in the family." He threw open the kitchen door and, standing on the step, threw kisses toward the group within. "Good-bye, summer!" he sang. "_Good-bye, good-bye._" The beauty of his voice had its usual effect on Diana, who stood by the strip of green, growing things, looking in his direction, her lips slightly parted over her pretty teeth. "You see I'm good-bye-ing," he said, approaching her. "Are you leaving us?" she returned, allowing her clasped hands to fall apart. "See how well the sweet peas are doing." "Yes, I'm leaving you all in good shape. Do you think you can go on behaving yourselves without my watchful guardianship and Christian example?" "I think we shall miss you. Mr. Gayne is not a fair exchange." "Thank you. Mrs. Lowell was talking to me about that outfit last evening. She is quite stirred up about the boy."