"We've got a good shelter of large trees already provided for us," she said as they all seated themselves in such shade as the young leaves made.
"There ought to be a fine large settee under it where we can have Club meetings all summer, no matter how warm it is," urged Tom Watkins with wise foresight. Tom and his sister, Della, came out from New York for the club gatherings, and the prospect of meeting out of doors instead of in the attic, which was delightful in winter but not so attractive in warm weather, made him offer this shrewd suggestion.
"In the first place," said Dorothy again, opening the various catalogues and spreading them on the grass where they could all see them, "don't you think it would be pretty to have all the chairs and benches of one pattern? Or don't you?"
"I think it would," answered Ethel Brown, examining the pages carefully before she made her decision.
"I should like them all alike. It would be messy to have a lot of different patterns."
Ethel Blue, who had a good deal of artistic sense and ability, nodded her agreement with this belief. They all came to the same conclusion.
"Then, let's pick out the pattern," said Dorothy, who had an orderly mind.
"Something plain, so the visitor's eye won't be drawn to the benches instead of the flowers," recommended Helen. "Suppose we were sitting here, for instance, and looking toward the flower beds--there will be some tables and chairs between us and the flowers, probably--"
"If the seeds will only grow," Dorothy sighed comically.
"--and we want to forget them and not have them intrude on our attention."
"Correct!" James Hancock thumped the ground by way of applause.
"What's the plainest pattern there is?" asked Della, extending her hand for a book.
"That one--but that's too plain," remonstrated Ethel Blue. "That's so plain that it draws your attention as much as if it were all fussed up."
They laughed at her disgust and urged her to choose the next plainest.
"I rather think this one with cross bars is pretty," she decided seriously. "You wouldn't get tired of that--especially if they're all painted dark green so you won't see them much."
"You girls seem to want to have invisible furniture," grinned Roger. "Me for something more substantial."