The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-04-06
The Benton Girls,

dreadful, and we feel almost ashamed
to go to school Monday morning, for
fear some of the girls will hear about it
and tease us. Marian feels the worst
though, because she began it and L
only helped.
We were coming home from school
Friday afternoon, and when we got
round the corner she said in sort of
half-scared, half-proud way:
Jane, I've invited the Benton girls
to spend the afternoon with us to-mor-
row!"
said, 90 Marian, you HAVEN'T And
1 couldn't believe she had, for they are
the two new scholars and we didn't
hardly know them, only all the girls
think they are splendid, because last
Wednesday when we had exercises they
went up on the platform and sang a
piece together. They have such polite
manners it makes them seem proud,
and they don't play hard at recess like
the rest of us, but walk around and
smile little sometimes.
81 haze invited Them" Marian said,
"and they have promised to come"
Then we neither of us said anything
l.
were both thinking the same thing
what would Aunt Ann say?"
You see Marian and L are cousins,
and we board at Aunt AIMS so as to go
to school in that district, because it is
such good school.
- Aunt Ann is pretty old, and Aunt
Maria isn't quite so old, but she has
headaches a good deal. They keep the
front room shut up except when the
minister calls, and they stay in the sit
ting-room by the fire. Marian and L
stay in there, too, to study and read
and play, because our room up stairs is
dreadfully cold this weather.
By-and-by Marian said
Il hope Aunt Ann will bake to-mor-
row."
But L told her maybe the Benton
girls wouldn't stay to tea, If she only
asked them to spend the afternoon and
didn't say anything about tea. Marian
said she wasn't sure herself
Then | asked her if she wasn't going
to tell Aunt Ann, and she wanted me to
tell her, and L didn't like to for fear
Aunt Ann wouldn't be glad. SO we
kept putting it off after we got into the
house, and then when we had had sup
per the fire went down, and Aunt Ann
sent us to bed early.
We lay awake and talked though, and
/ asked Marian what made her invite
the Benton girls. She said because
they were SO proud and so nice, and she
wanted to be friends with them. Then
she said she had 3 cents to spend and
l said L had 3, and l would spend them,
for | liked the Benton girls myself.
But still we both felt little frightened
about their coming.
The next morning when we got up it
was cold and rainy.
Il guess they won't come" L said to
Marian, and she thought so, too, and so
she put off telling Aunt Ann.
But we watched to see if any baking
was to be done, hoping there would be
something nice made. About the mid
die of the forenoon we heard Aunt
Maria say:
"There's gingerbread enough for to-
night, and cookies for tomorrow. L
believe / won't try to make anything
more till Monday, my head aches so"
Marian and L looked at each other,
for we knew the gingerbread was rather
dry. But it was raining hard just then,
and probably the Benton girls would
lessons for Monday, and kept busy till
dinner-time.
After dinner Marian said:
Look, janet
And there was the sun trying to shine
out through the clouds, but the streets
were so muddy it didn't seem as if any
one could walk in them. Aunt Maria
sat in her rockingham knitting, and
Aunt Ann was at the table turning a
sheet. Marian and stood by the win
dow looking out.
All of a sudden two figures in water
proofs turned the street corner, and
came into our yard up the path.
1t was the Benton girls
Marian ran to open the door. Aunt
Maria asked what the matter was, and
/ told her two of my schoolmates had
come to see us. There wasn't time to
say any more, for Marian was bringing
them in.
They said "good afternoon" to each
one and then we took their things and
laid them on the bed in Aunt AIMS
room. Both the sisters had on pretty
soft brown merinos, with some lace and
scarlet ribbon round the neck. And
don't you think, Marian and had never
once thought to dress up, so we had on
our old school delaines. And Marian's
is out at the elbow, but saw her try
ing to sit so it wouldn't show.
Margery Benton is the youngest and
she didn't say much, only looked at us
through her long, black eyelashes, but
Ada talked and answered real politely
when Aunt Ann asked her what her
fathers name was, and what place they
lived in before they moved here.
Pretty soon Marian said:
I'm going out minute" and she
made a sign for me to give her my 9
cents, so / did, and she put on her hood
and went over to the store. She had
her cents, too, and she spent the
whole for hickory nuts, because she
could get more of them than anything
else.