six weeks had passed since the first meeting of sunflower troop, and marjorie felt more than encouraged with the progress she had made. for the first time since its organization, she looked forward to the meeting with real anticipation. six of her eight girls were registered scouts, and would soon appear in uniform; all of them were apparently interested in basket-ball. moreover, she brought news to them of the league, and would have a surprise for them in the gift of the gymnasium shoes. on the whole, the evening promised to be delightful.

she had learned by this time never to count events certainties until they were past; therefore, though she was disappointed to meet queenie and stella with frowns on their faces, she was not wholly surprised.

“anything wrong?” she asked, immediately.

“i’ll say there is!” stormed the patrol leader. “gertie and mame are bagging tonight!”

“gertie and mame,” repeated marjorie, with a feeling of relief. “well, i’m sorry, but after all i didn’t expect them to do much with basket-ball, and we really have enough without them.”

114“knock again, queenie—nobody home!” laughed the girl, touching her captain upon the forehead. “don’t you understand, miss wilkinson—we have to have eight scouts to register our troop at headquarters, and we need them two quitters? how can we get in the league if we ain’t—i mean are not—registered?”

marjorie groaned.

“you’re right, queenie. and we must register soon! it’s almost the middle of november, and we have to be in by december first! what shall we do?”

“i’ve a good mind to drop ’em, and get the ernsberg twins.”

“who are they?” demanded marjorie, eagerly.

“two kids that live on our street. they’ve never really been in our gang, but they’re dyin’ to. only thing is, they’re kind a young.”

“how young?”

“school kids—in dot’s class at high. only fifteen, i guess.”

“do they seem interested in scouts?”

queenie shrugged her shoulders.

“i guess they’d like to do anything i did. and they’d fall hard for you and miss andrews.”

“couldn’t we get them without dropping the others?” suggested marjorie, ignoring the compliment.

“we could—but i’m beginnin’ to feel mame and gertie is dead ones. sunflower troop just naturally has to be up and kickin’!”

“yes, that’s my idea too,” agreed the captain, although she would have expressed it in different language. “well, i’ll leave it up to you, queenie—i know you will think of whatever is best. it wouldn’t be putting gertie and mame out, because they haven’t shown enough interest to get in yet. and i do think it’s pretty mean not to make an effort to pass the tenderfoot test. they’re keeping the whole troop from appearing in uniform.”

queenie’s eyes blazed angrily; she had not thought of this outcome before.

“that decides it, miss wilkinson!” she exclaimed. “i’m goin’ a get the kids on the phone this minute, if you’ll hold up the meetin’ for me.”

marjorie acquiesced, and when queenie was gone, she and lily regarded each other in amusement.

“she’s a typical political boss!” remarked lily. “but you can’t help admiring her.”

“no, you certainly can’t. do you remember what mr. richards said about her—that he thought she would make something of herself. now i wonder what jack’s opinion will be.”

“that will be interesting—he usually sizes people up pretty correctly. i don’t think dick or john ever gave her a thought.”

“except to be angry at her, that first night,” commented marjorie. “come, lil, let’s go get ready for the meeting; we have a lot to do tonight.”

in a few minutes the patrol leader returned, wearing a smile of satisfaction on her face that told116 the officers her quest had been successful, and the troop went through with its usual ceremonies. after the business meeting, lily took charge of signalling in preparation for the passing of second class tests, and marjorie turned to her notes about the league.

“do you want to hear about the teams that have entered?” she asked. “i went up to headquarters today to find out about them, and noted them down so that i could tell you.”

“sure we want to hear!” cried queenie, excitedly. “reel ’em off!”

“well,” began marjorie, checking off the troops as she mentioned them, “there is troop six, from one of the playgrounds. they have a very good coach, i believe, and practice two or three nights a week, outside of scout meeting.”

“so that’s two troops sure of the cup!” observed queenie.

“two? which two?” demanded lily.

“theirs, and ours!” replied the other, coolly.

the girls all laughed, and marjorie continued.

“troops eighteen and thirty-five, both from churches. i think they’re rather new at the game——”

“whitewash them!” commented stella, adopting her patrol leader’s attitude.

“troop ninety-seven, from one of the suburbs. i understand they’re older girls—farmerettes, i believe.”

“regular huskies!” was queenie’s definition of them. “but we’ve got brains, besides muscle!”

“and last of all, troop one-sixty-one, from down in your district, dottie——”

“that’s the high school troop!” cried the latter, with unmistakable awe in her tone. “they really going into the league?”

“yes, why not?” asked marjorie.

“then we might as well lie down and die!” the younger girl informed her. “we’d have about as much chance as a ford against a rolls royce. they’ve been playing together two or three years, and beat every team they play!”

this piece of news was received with a groan from the members of the troop. queenie, however, was still undaunted.

“now we know who we got a beat!” she said, with the same assurance. “how ’bout an extra practice a week, miss wilkinson?”

“i’m afraid miss andrews and i couldn’t come, much as we should like to,” answered marjorie, regretfully. “and as yet there aren’t enough girls to get along without us. maybe later——”

the appearance of two freckle-faced girls, dressed exactly alike, and accompanied by a dapper young man put an abrupt end to the discussion.

“here comes the twins!” announced queenie, dashing out of her seat. “and darned if they haven’t got a feller!”

all eyes turned upon the young man, who blushed painfully.

“you ought a be ashamed to rob the cradle——” queenie began, mockingly, when a sharp pinch from one of the twins stopped her.

“he ain’t with us, queenie—so shut up!” she whispered perfectly audibly.

“oh, beg your pardon,” the patrol leader faltered, humbly.

at this moment marjorie decided that it was time to take things into her own hands.

“did you wish to speak to anyone in particular?” she asked the stranger, courteously.

“yes—er—i’m from spaulding’s,” he told her, rather timidly. “i have brought the gymnasium shoes that were ordered.”

“certainly!” replied marjorie. “i remember—and i’m sorry that the girls misunderstood. won’t you have a seat?”

briefly she explained his errand to the troop, taking care, however, not to mention the name of the donor.

queenie, who was the first to be fitted, established herself at the door to keep a sharp watch out for jack. it was her secret desire to be the first to see “what he was like.”

long before the young salesman, who by this time felt quite at home with the girls, had finished, both jack and john swung cheerfully down the hall, and119 stopped at the open door. queenie greeted them with the utmost hospitality.

“at home to all our friends tonight!” she welcomed them, joyfully. “but i pity you, mr. wilkinson, when you try to get basket-ball through our thick heads. we’re nuthin’ but dumb-bells.”

“just what i like best,” he grinned. “people that don’t think they know it all. they’re much easier to teach.”

marjorie, who had been watching her brother closely, sensed his immediate liking for queenie, and felt pleased. she was so anxious for others to back up her judgment, to consider these girls worth-while. smilingly she came over to the boys.

“hello, jack and john!” she exclaimed. “so glad to see you—both. i think we’re about through now——” she allowed her eyes to rest for a second upon john’s, with understanding. “and everybody’s delighted. so shall we adjourn to the floor?”

“yes, indeed!” agreed her brother. “by the way, isn’t that sautter over there, tying up those boxes?”

“yes, it is,” john answered for her. “nice chap—do you know him?”

“several years. let’s go speak to him.”

the young men sauntered over to speak to their friend, and concluded, with marjorie’s consent, by inviting him down to the gymnasium. the party was growing so large that john had a sudden inspiration to make it a festive occasion, and asked the young captain whether he might not go out and buy ice-cream for the crowd.

“if you want to,” answered the girl, smilingly. “i don’t see how anybody could fail to appreciate it, especially after basket-ball.”

while he was gone, jack threw himself seriously into his task, and carefully explained to the girls the fundamentals of the game, concluding with demonstrations and practice. annie marshall and stella cox seemed to take to it as if they had been playing for weeks; they learned how to make their passes swift and straight, and in a short time, got the knack of shooting baskets.

“let’s have a little game now,” suggested jack, after the drilling. “suppose i line you up: sis, jumping-center, miss williams—oh, bosh! i’m going to call you by your first names, if nobody objects——”

“that’s what we like!” shouted queenie, from the other end of the floor.

“all right, then: dot, side-center; stella and—and—i forget your name——?”

“annie,” supplied queenie, who by this time was standing beside him.

“yes, stella and annie, forwards; miss andrews and queenie, guards. for the time being, we’ll call that our first team.”

“ain’t we just the cat’s whiskers?” demanded queenie, pulling her shoulders up proudly, and121 strutting around like a peacock. “stars—in one night, too!”

jack almost shook with laughter, regretting that john had not returned from his errand, to enjoy the fun with him.

“now then, opposing team—you won’t mind if i call you scrubs?”

“so long as we don’t have to scrub floors,” returned clara, in the spirit of the occasion.

“well, the twins for forwards; clara, you and—aggie—guards—and—” turning to their visitor over near the wall—“sautter, you play side-center, and i’ll jump center, against sis. now, all we need’s a referee!”

“here he comes!” cried marjorie, exultantly, thinking that it was john coming down the steps; but to her amazement, she recognized mr. richards. he was dropping in to see the troop on his way home from a meeting, and immediately agreed to take his part in the game.

for five minutes there was a jolly, rough-and-tumble sort of game, until the new players declared that they were exhausted. marjorie, too, was willing to stop, for she saw john beckoning to her in her doorway.

“ice-cream’s ready!” he announced, and was greeted with shouts of joy from all members of the party.

the girls flopped to the floor of the gymnasium, while the young men trotted back and forth with the paper plates of ice-cream and the bags of cakes122 john had procured with some difficulty, after a good deal of search for a clean bakery in the vicinity. miss winthrop looked in upon the party and nodded approvingly, but she was too busy to stay.

“by the way,” said mr. richards, after an interval, “i really came to offer my services for next wednesday evening.” apparently he was addressing queenie, rather than marjorie. “i have a night off, and i know that you’re all anxious to pass that second class test——”

“it would be great!” exclaimed the patrol leader, with obvious delight. “you don’t mind, do you, captain?”

“no, i heartily approve,” returned marjorie. “but i’m sorry i can’t come myself—i—er—have an important engagement——”

“we know all about that, miss wilkinson!” teased queenie, noticing the grateful look that john hadley flashed to marjorie; “but i take it mr. richards meant to save your time.”

“that’s just the idea,” he explained.

“then it’s all settled——” she looked up, sharply. “who’s that banging at the door?”

mr. sautter hastened to unfasten it; and, to the amazement of the girls, gertie reed and mame collins faced them with angry countenances.

“a party—with fellers! and kep’ it from us!” gertie blurted out, resentfully. “all right! we’ll show you——”

“come in, girls!” marjorie invited, pleasantly, in123 an attempt to overlook their discourtesy. “and have some cakes——”

“nuthin’ doin’!” thundered queenie. “you’re canned, both of you! you stood us up for registerin’ the troop, by baggin’ scouts for dates! you’re out of! get out, before we fire you!”

“no, no!” protested marjorie, in alarm, jumping up and rushing forward. “let me explain, girls——”

but the furious girls were not listening to her. they were still looking at queenie.

“we’ll pay you back, queenie brazier!” threatened gertie, slamming the door again, and racing up the steps.

the young people looked at each other in consternation; but before anything could be said, the gong sounded to warn them of the building’s closing. silently they obeyed its summons, leaving all discussion until the officers had gone.