"Come in! Come in!" cried ten girls at once, while Bettina whispered to Ruth: "Thank goodness, she's come! The muffins are all but done!"

"What in the world!" said Alice.

"A party for you!"

"And I'm wearing my old suit!"

"We caught you this time, but never mind. Come in, and take off your things."

As soon as Alice reappeared in the living room, a small table was drawn up before the open fire. Two girls appeared, wearing gingham aprons and carrying overflowing market baskets.

"This is a kitchen shower for you, Alice," Ruth explained somewhat ceremoniously. "But if you are willing, we will use the utensils in serving the luncheon and afterwards present them to you. May we unpack the baskets?"

"Do," said Alice, laughing.

From the larger basket, Ruth removed twelve white enamelled plates of different sizes (suitable for holding supplies in the refrigerator), and twelve cross-barred tea towels. The latter she passed around to be used as napkins, and Mary distributed the plates. On the small serving table before the fire, a white muslin table cover was placed. As she unfolded it, Ruth read from the attached card:

When the steel forks and spoons of various sizes were taken out and passed around, two glass measuring cups were found to hold loaf sugar wrapped in frilled paper. Upon one of these Ruth read:

A glass rolling-pin filled with stick candy came next, and its sentiments read, and meanwhile the girls had begun to read aloud the advice pinned upon the tea-towels, such as:

"What vindictive dish-towels!" said Alice. "They're not a bit sentimental!"

When the contents had been removed and all the verses read, the large basket was presented to Alice, who read from its handle:

"I will, Mr. Basket, with you over my arm!" answered Alice.

Meanwhile the girls had carried in the salad in an earthenware mixing-bowl, the muffins heaped high in a small basket with a dainty dustcloth over them, the coffee in a large enamelled pitcher, and the "molasses puffs" wrapped in frilled paper in a basket suitable for holding supplies. "Bettina's apples" were arranged in two flat enamelled pans. All the food was served informally from the small table, and the merriment grew as the luncheon progressed.

"I wish that all the meals Harry and I have together might be as jolly as this one! I'm sure I should be glad to eat always from kitchen dishes, if that is what makes the fun," said Alice.

At the kitchen shower, the luncheon was as follows:

Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Serve the salad very cold on crisp lettuce leaves.

Heat the vinegar, add the cloves, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over the beets, cut in one-third inch slices. Allow to stand one hour before serving.

Mix the molasses and sugar. Add the hot water and fat. Beat well, add the egg and mix thoroughly. Sift the ginger, cinnamon, flour and soda together, and add to the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Fill well-buttered muffin pans three-fourths full. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Ice with "C" sugar icing.

Cook the sugar and water together until it "clicks" when a little is dropped into cold water. Pour the syrup slowly over the stiffly beaten egg whites. Beat vigorously until cool and creamy. Add the vanilla and spread on the cakes. If the icing gets hard before it is cool, add two tablespoons of water and continue beating. The secret of good icing is steady, constant beating.

Wash, peel and core the apples. Place in a broad flat pan in which the sugar and water have been thoroughly mixed. Cook the apples, turning often until tender, remove from the syrup and place in a serving dish. Fill the center with one-half a marshmallow. Add the cinnamon and butter to the syrup and cook five minutes or until it thickens. Pour over and around the apples. Decorate with a marshmallow cut into fourths. Serve warm.