Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/339

Rh she ever been addressed by Ben with the same cordiality that he showed to Amy. It happened, however, that in spite of their distant cousinship, Ben had no great liking  for Frances, and indeed he usually went out of his way  to avoid her. His eye had been fixed on Amy as he approached the piazza, and his cordial “Oh, Fritz and I have something to show you!” was intended for her ear  chiefly. When he came a little nearer, so that the whole group was in view, he showed his embarrassment.

“Can’t we all see it?” asked Nora, mischievously.

“Oh, it is nothing; only something Fritz Tomkins and I have been looking up. Amy and I had a bet against him, and I rather think we ’ve won.”

Just then Fritz himself appeared, crying, “There, Amy, I believe that you and Ben have won after all; see, here  are some of those very mushrooms that I thought could n’t  be found this side of Ipswich!” and he held up the pale  brown and white fungus, which at a little distance did  look so like a commonplace vegetable that Frances held  up her hands in horror.

“That’s Fritz Tomkins, son of the explorer,” whispered one of her friends to Frances.

“Oh,” said another, “that accounts for his going off to dig mushrooms at a wedding reception. I suppose that he’s very scientific.”

Fritz himself, as he followed Ben up on the piazza, felt bound to make some apologies, especially to Amy. He had left her rather abruptly when Ben whispered that this  would be a good time to go down toward the brook on