Notwithstanding her “worrying,” however, Gretel slept very well, and awoke next morning quite ready to enjoy life. “We have to spend the morning working for the Red Cross,” Molly explained at breakfast, “but this afternoon we can bathe and either play tennis or go for a motor ride. Kitty wrote she wouldn’t be here before six, at any rate. It’s a long ride from Stockbridge over here. Her family are going to spend a couple of weeks at Narragansett and will drop her here as they go through.” It was a lovely summer morning, and soon after breakfast Mrs. Chester and the three girls started for the Red Cross meeting at the Godfreys’. A five minutes’ walk brought them to the house, which, like the Chesters’, was close to the water. Ada was watching from the piazza, and came running across the lawn to greet her friends. “I am so glad you were able to come,” she said, kissing Geraldine affectionately. “I am going to have a house party next week, and there’s lots of fun going on. Did Molly tell you about the dance at The Griswold on the Fourth? Mother says I can go and take my party, and Mrs. Chester is going to take all of you. They say a lot of boys from the naval station will be there, and it will be very gay.” Ada’s manner was very cordial, but sensitive Gretel could not help fancying that there was a difference in her manner when she turned from Geraldine to herself, and particularly when presenting her to her mother as “my friend, Gretel Schiller.” Mrs. Godfrey, a stout, energetic woman, with a loud, decided voice, received the visitors kindly, and the girls were introduced to several other ladies who had already arrived for the morning’s work. More people appeared, and they were soon all busy folding bandages and making surgical dressings. Gretel was skillful with her fingers and eager to learn, and before the morning was over she had won golden opinions from many of the workers. It would all have been very pleasant if Mrs. Godfrey and one of the other ladies had not begun entertaining the party with stories of German atrocities, ending in what they both declared to be a true account of ground glass having been found in some surgical dressings which had been sent in by a branch of the Red Cross. “Of course, some German did it,” Ada’s mother stated positively. “People should be more careful whom they allow to work. I have heard of one branch who will not accept any work done by a person even having a German name.” Gretel felt her cheeks tingle, but kept her eyes steadily bent on her work, and so quite failed to notice the quick, warning glance that Ada cast at her mother. But the next words she heard were in Mrs. Chester’s kind voice. “That seems to me a little unfair. Many people with German names are quite as good Americans as we are.”