"Shame on you, Alice! Don't pretend to be so humble. You do everything so easily that I'll not be surprised to see you papering your own house and acting as your own plumber and doing every other hard thing. A useless butterfly like you who turns out to be so competent after all is the despair of all us plodders who have always plodded and always will!" And Ruth sighed.

"Never mind, Ruthie," said Bettina. "I've eaten a mighty fine luncheon that you cooked yourself—four or five courses, if I haven't forgotten!"

"Yes, and I worried every minute during that day!"

"We all do at first, except maybe Alice!"

"Why worry?" said Alice. "(Seems to me I've heard that expression before.) You girls won't die if the biscuits do fail—I'll give you bread. Harry and I are going to laugh at our own mistakes—and enjoy them. Isn't that a good philosophy? But, girls, to get down to biscuits. I want to ask you—one and all—collectively and individually, to be in my wedding party. With the addition of Sister, who isn't here. She and Bettina will be the matrons of honor. Will you?"

"Will we!" they all cried with enthusiasm.

The luncheon menu was as follows:

Break the salmon apart carefully with a silver fork, add the diced celery, sweet pickles, salt and hard-cooked eggs. Mix together well, and add the salad dressing. Arrange on lettuce leaves in a salad bowl, garnish with hard-cooked eggs to represent daisies, and pickles cut in strips. Serve very cold. (To represent daisies, cut the whites of each hard-cooked egg in six long petals. Arrange these on the salad. Cut the yolks in half, and place in the center—round side out. Arrange the pickle to represent stem and leaves.)

Remove beans from the can and rinse with cold water. Add water, salt, paprika and butter. Cook over a moderate fire for three minutes. Serve.

Place the water and butter in a sauce pan. Heat to the boiling point, then add the flour, all at once, and stir till smooth. Cook till the paste comes away from the sides of the pan. (A very short time.) Remove from fire, and when cold, add the unbeaten eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each egg is added. (The mixture should be stiff enough to hold its shape without spreading.) Chill the paste by placing in the ice-box and then drop by tablespoonsful on a buttered sheet. Bake thirty-five minutes in a hot oven. When cold, make an opening in the side of each and fill with cream filling.

Mix the sugar, salt, cornstarch and flour. Gradually add the milk and egg. Cook until very thick, in a double boiler. Add the butter and vanilla. Beat one minute. Cool before using.