"We want you at our Halloween party on Saturday. Will you come? You will have Helen and the Inglesides to come with, and perhaps Leslie." Rosamond, even while delivering her message to Mrs. Goldthwaite for Leslie, had seen an unopened note lying upon the table, addressed to her in the sharp, tall hand of Olivia Marchbanks. She stopped in at the Haddens, told them how sorry she had been to find they were promised; asked if it were any use to go to the Hendees'; and when Elinor said, "But you will be sure to be asked to the Marchbankses yourselves," replied, "It is a pity they should come together, but we had quite made up our minds to have this little frolic, and we have begun, too, you see." Then she did go to the Hendees', although it was dark; and Maria Hendee, who seldom went out to parties, promised to come. "They would divide," she said. "Fanny might go to Olivia's. Holiday-keeping was different from other invites. One might take liberties." Now the Hendees were people who could take liberties, if anybody. Last of all, Rosamond went in and asked Pen Pennington. It was Thursday, just at dusk, when Adelaide Marchbanks walked over, at last, and proffered her invitation. "You had better all come to us," she said, graciously. "It is a pity to divide. We want the same people, of course,--the Hendees, and the Haddens, and Leslie." She hardly attempted to disguise that we ourselves were an afterthought. Rosamond told her, very sweetly, that we were obliged, but that she was afraid it was quite too late; we had asked others; the Hobarts, and the Inglesides; one or two whom Adelaide did not know,--Helen Josselyn, and Lucilla Waters; the parties would not interfere much, after all. Rosamond took up, as it were, a little sceptre of her own, from that moment. Leslie Goldthwaite had been away for three days, staying with her friend, Mrs. Frank Scherman, in Boston. She had found Olivia's note, of Monday evening, when she returned; also, she heard of Rosamond's verbal invitation. Leslie was very bright about these things. She saw in a moment how it had been. Her mother told her what Rosamond had said of who were coming,--the Hobarts and Helen; the rest were not then asked. Olivia did not like it very well,--that reply of Leslie's. She showed it to Jeannie Hadden; that was how we came to know of it. "Please forgive me," the note ran, "if I accept Rosamond's invitation for the very reason that might seem to oblige me to decline it. I see you have two days' advantage of her, and she will no doubt lose some of the girls by that. I really _heard_ hers first. I wish very much it were possible to have both pleasures." That was being terribly true and independent with West Z----. "But Leslie Goldthwaite," Barbara said, "always was as brave as a little bumble-bee!"