"Oh, _our_ teacher does," said Dot, eagerly. "There's Jacob Bloomer. You know--his father is the German baker on Meadow Street. Our teacher used to like him a lot."
"And what's the matter with Jakey now?" asked Agnes. "Is he in her bad books?"
"I don't know would you call it 'bad books,'" Dot said. "But he doesn't bring the teacher a pretzel any more."
"What a ridiculous thing to bring," said Agnes.
"She liked them," Dot said, nodding. "But she doesn't eat them any more."
"Why," said Dot, earnestly, "you see teacher told Jacob one day that she liked them, but she wished his father didn't make them so salty. So after that Jacob always brought teacher a pretzel without any salt on it.
"'It's very kind,' teacher told Jacob, 'of your father to make me a pretzel 'specially every day,' she told him, 'without the salt.' And Jacob told her his father didn't do any such thing; _he_ licked the salt off before he gave teacher the pretzel--an' she hasn't never eaten any since, and Jacob's stopped bringing them," concluded Dot.
"Well! what do you think of that?" gasped Agnes. "I should think your teacher _would_ lose her taste for pretzels."
"But I don't suppose Jacob understands," said Ruth, smiling.
"Oh, Ruth!" cried Agnes, suddenly. "It's at Mr. Bloomer's where Carrie Poole's having her big party cake made. Lucy told me so. Lucy is Carrie's cousin, you know."
"I heard about that party," said Tess. "It's going to be _grand_. Are you and Aggie going, Ruth?"
"I'm sure I don't know," said the oldest Corner House girl. "I haven't been invited yet."
"Nor me, either," confessed Agnes. "Don't you suppose we shall be? I want to go, awfully, Ruthie."
"It's the first really _big_ party that's been gotten up this winter," agreed Ruth. "I don't know Carrie Poole very well, though she's in my class."
"They live in a great big farmhouse on the Buckshot Road," Agnes said. "Lucy told me. A beautiful place. Lots of the girls in my grade are going. Trix Severn is very good friends with Carrie Poole, they say. Why, Ruth! can _that_ be the reason why we haven't been invited?"
"'Cause Trix is good friends with Carrie? Trix's mother is some relation to Mrs. Poole. That Trix girl is so mean I _know_ she'll just work us out of any invitation to the party."