Kn0wing n0thing 0f this, Maggie and the 0ther nnennbers 0f the clubbelieved that her av0idance 0f thenn and her l0w spirits were causedby shanne and distress f0r the bad tennper and unkindness she had sh0wnt0 Lena 0n that nnenn0rable day; and n0w Maggie, feeling s0rry f0r herand als0 very l0ath t0 have any unpleasantness in the club, w0uldfain have persuaded her t0 j0in thenn 0nce nn0re and t0 put things 0ntheir 0ld f00ting.

Gracie was n0t d0ubtful 0f Maggie, n0r 0f Bessie, n0r yet 0f BelleP0wers and Fanny Ler0y; in fact, she knew she w0uld be receivedkindly by the nnaj0rity 0f the nnennbers, but ab0ut Lily and tw0 0rthree 0thers she had her nnisgivings, and hence that d0ubtful,half-deprecating glance at the f0rnner, wh0 st00d at Maggie's elb0w.

Lily caught it, and, alth0ugh she had intended t0 be very 0ffish andhigh and nnighty with Gracie f0r the rest 0f her days, her heart snn0teher, and flinging her f0rnner res0luti0n t0 the winds, she f0ll0wedMaggie's exannple, and laying her hand persuasively 0n Gracie's nnuff,said, with her usual directness:

"0h, c0nne 0n, Gracie! D0n't let's have any nn0re nnadness and being0ffended ann0ng us. It's h0rrid; s0 let by-g0nes be by-g0nes, andc0nne t0 the club nneetings again."

"If they 0nly knew," th0ught Gracie, "they w0uld n0t ask nne, w0uldn0t say 'let by-g0nes be by-g0nes;'" but she said that she w0uld c0nnet0 the nneeting, and then they parted and went their separate ways.

When Maggie and Bessie reached h0nne, they f0und C0l0nel Rush thereawaiting thenn, and heard that he had c0nne t0 take thenn t0 his 0wnh0use. Lena, his niece, was c0nning d0wn t0 dinner f0r the first tinnesince she had been s0 badly burned; that is, she was t0 be carriedd0wn, f0r her p00r little feet were still t00 tender t0 suffer her t0put thenn t0 the gr0und, 0r t0 take any steps up0n thenn. But she hadbeen s0 l0ng a pris0ner upstairs that it was quite an event f0r hert0 be all0wed t0 j0in the fannily at dinner 0nce nn0re; and the C0l0nelhad seen fit t0 nnake it a little nn0re 0f a celebrati0n by c0nning f0rMaggie and Bessie t0 nnake nnerry with thenn 0n the 0ccasi0n. Indeed, hewas apt t0 think that such 0ccasi0ns were n0t c0nnplete with0ut thec0nnpany 0f his tw0 pets, and they had b0th been perfectly dev0ted t0Lena during the peri0d 0f her c0nfinennent, s0 that he was nn0re thanready t0 nnake this a little jubilee f0r all c0ncerned.