than I am."
There on the doorstep beside the Sunday paper stood a little four-year-old neighbor, her hands full of old-fashioned pinks.
"My mother sent these to you," she said.
"Oh, lovely, dear! Thank you! Won't you come in?"
"No'm! My daddy has to shine my shoes for Sunday school."
"Bob, aren't these pretty with the white feathery weeds? I do love flowers!"
"They don't look half so pretty as this 'ere frizzled beef does! Breakfast is all ready!"
Bettina sat down to an open-air breakfast of
Grapefruit
Oatmeal Cream
Creamed Beef Toast Rounds
Rolls Butter
Coffee
After a jolly and leisurely meal, Bob announced that he was ready to wash the dishes.
"Ever since I've seen that nice white-lined dishpan of yours, I've wanted to try it. It's oval, and I never saw an oval one before."
"I like it because it fits into the sink so well, and fills all the space it can."
"See how efficient I am! I put on the water for the dishes when we sat down to eat! Now I'll have nice hot, soapy water, and lots of it, to rinse them!"
"But don't rinse the glasses, dear. See how I can polish glass and silver that has just come out of that clean soapy water! Look! Isn't that shiny and pretty? There, you can scald everything else!"
"There's the telephone! It's Mrs. Dixon! What on earth can she want? She asked for you!"
Bettina talked for a few moments in monosyllables and then returned to the dishes. "What did she have to say?" Bob asked.
"She asked me not to tell you, Bob. Nothing much. Perhaps you'll know some day."
Bob looked puzzled and slightly hurt. It was the first time that Bettina had kept anything from him and he could not help showing some displeasure.
Bettina saw this, and said: "Bob, I don't want to have any secret from you, and I'd like you to know that this is nothing that I wouldn't tell you gladly if I were the only one concerned. I promised, that's all. You'll smile when you know all about it."
And Bob was mollified.
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Oatmeal (Four portions)
¾ C-rolled oats
2 C-hot water
½ t-salt
Put the hot water in the upper part of the double boiler. When boiling, add salt and oats. Boil the mixture for three minutes. Cover and place the upper part in the lower part of the double boiler. Cook over a moderate fire for one hour. Stir occasionally.
Creamed Beef (Four portions)
¼ lb. diced beef thinly sliced
2 T-butter
2 T-flour
1 C-milk
Place the butter in a frying-pan, and when the pan is hot and the butter is melted, add the beef separated into small pieces. Allow it to frizzle. Add the flour, mix thoroughly with beef and butter, allowing the flour to brown a little. Add the milk slowly, cooking until thick and smooth. Pour over rounds of toast. Garnish with parsley.
CHAPTER XVIII
BETTINA GIVES A PORCH PARTY
"I'M so glad that you girls have come, for I've been longing to show you the porch ever since Bob and I put on the finishing touches."
"O Bettina, it's lovely!" cried all the guests in a chorus. "But weren't you awfully extravagant?"
"Wait till I tell you. Perhaps I ought not to give myself away, but I am prouder of our little economies than of anything else; we've had such fun over them. This is some old wicker furniture that Mother had in her attic, all but this chair, that came from Aunt Nell's. Bob mended it very carefully, and then enameled it this dull green color. I have been busy with these cretonne hangings and cushions for a long time, and we have been coaxing along the flowers in our hanging baskets and our window boxes for days and days, so that they would make a good impression on our first porch guests. Bob made the flower boxes himself and enameled them to go with the furniture. This high wicker flower box was a wedding gift, and so was the wicker reading lamp. This matting rug is new, but I must admit that we bought nothing else except this drop-leaf table, which I have been wanting for a long time. You see it will make a good serving table, and then we expect to eat on it in warm weather."
"What are we to make today, Bettina? The invitation has made us all curious.
"'The porch is cool as cool can be,
So come on Thursday just at three,
To stay awhile and sew On something useful, strong, and neat, Which, with your help, will quite complete Bettina's bungalow!'"
"What about the little sketches of knives and forks and spoons in the corners?"
"Bob did that. He wrote the verse, too, or I'm afraid I should have telephoned. Are we all here? Wait a minute."
And Bettina wheeled out her tea-cart, on which, among trailing nasturtiums, were mysterious packages wrapped in fringed green tissue paper.
"What is in them? Silver cases—cut and ready to be made! Oh, how cunning! Shall we label them, too? What is the card?
"'I'll not incase your silver speech,
For that is quite beyond my reach!'"
"Did Bob do that, too? The impudence!" and Ruth threaded her needle in preparation.
"You see," said Bettina, "I hadn't found time to make cases for my silver, so I just decided to let you girls help me! The card tells what to label them, in outline stitch in these bright colors. I used to open ten cases at home before I found what I wanted, so I am insuring against that."
Talk and laughter shortened the afternoon, but at five o'clock Bettina wheeled out her tea-cart again. The dainty luncheon was decorated with nasturtiums. The girls laid aside their work while Bettina served:
Sunbonnet Baby Salad Nut Bread Sandwiches
Iced Tea Mint Wafers
Lemon Sherbet Tea Cakes
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
Sunbonnet Baby Salad (Ten portions)
10 halves pears
20 cloves, whole
20 almonds
10 thin slices pimento
10 T-salad dressing
10 pieces lettuce
Arrange the halves of canned pears, round side up, on lettuce leaves, which curl closely about the pear and have the effect of a hood. Place cloves in the pear for eyes, blanched almonds for ears, and slip thin slices of canned pimento into cuts made for nose and mouth. The expressions may be varied. Put salad dressing around the outside of the pear to represent hair and arrange a bow of red pimento under the chin of the sunbonnet baby. These salads are very effective and easy to make.
Nut Bread (Twenty-four sandwiches)
1½ C-graham flour
2 C-white flour