"I can guess," Ruth rejoined, clapping her hands. "You have seen Mrs.
Post and Hugh. Surely, you had not forgotten that they live in
Washington. Hugh has finished college and has a position in the Forestry
Department. I had a note from him this morning."

"And didn't tell! Oh, Ruth!" teased Grace Carter. "But, Bab, what about
our Lenox friends, who spend their winters in Washington?"

"You mean Dorothy and Gwendolin Morton, the British Ambassador's
daughters, and funny little Franz Haller, the German secretary, I hope we
shall see them. But do hurry, children. Please don't keep the Assistant
Secretary of State waiting for his dinner. That would surely be a bad
beginning for our Washington visit. No, Mollie Thurston; don't you put on
your very best dress for dinner to-night. I have just gotten out your
white muslin."

"But Harriet wears such lovely clothes all the time, Bab," Mollie
pleaded, when she and Barbara were alone.

"Never mind, child. Harriet Hamlin is not Mollie Thurston," Barbara
concluded wisely.




CHAPTER II

CABINET DAY IN WASHINGTON