THE VON TAER PEARLS Uncle John really had more fun out of the famous Kermess than anyone else.

The preparations gave him something to do, and he enjoyed doing--openly, as well as in secret ways.

Having declared that he would stock the flower booth at his own expense, he confided to no one his plans.

The girls may have thought he would merely leave orders with a florist; but that was not the Merrick way of doing things.

Instead, he visited the most famous greenhouses within a radius of many miles, contracting for all the floral blooms that art and skill could produce.
The Kermess was to be a three days' affair, and each day the floral treasures of the cast were delivered in reckless profusion at the flower booth, which thus became the center of attraction and the marvel of the public.