imagine why both
his sisters burst out laughing. "There isn't much joke that I can see
in that," he said.

"The joke is about Birmingham, you know," explained Betty. "It isn't a
port."

"Then it ought to be," said John decidedly.

"Perhaps you had better write to the Queen and suggest that it should
be made into one," remarked Madge. But then, seeing that her brother
looked vexed at his mistake, she continued cheerfully: "I have thought
of a new and much better plan. We will not have real towns, but we
will call them after our own names--Madgebury, Bettybury, and Johnbury!"

This idea gave very general satisfaction, and the game proceeded most
peacefully for some time. A vessel laden with acorns started from
Madgebury and went to Johnbury, crossing on the way another ship full
of horse-chestnuts. From Bettybury a small wooden doll set out on a
voyage of discovery into unknown regions, the owners carefully
superintending the course of their vessels and guiding them by long
strings. Once the strings got entangled and there was a terrific
shipwreck in Johnbury harbour, most of the cargo, consisting of
marbles, being lost in the mud at the bottom. After this collision it
was discovered that the sails of two of the vessels were injured, so
the ship-owners decided to retire for a short time to Eagle's Nest and
work at some necessary repairs.

It was a warm afternoon, and the shade of the great spreading
beech-tree was particularly pleasant after an hour spent in the glaring
sun by the ditch. The children sat about in idle lounging attitudes,
mending their boats and talking in a leisurely fashion.

"I wish I hadn't lost all those marbles," remarked John mournfully. "I
only found four, and I believe there were quite eight in the ship, only
the mud was so soft they sank out of sight at once. I squeezed it all
over with my hands to try and find them, but I couldn't."

"I should think you will lose those four as well, if you try and carry
them in your pocket," said Madge. "Don't you remember what a big hole
you have in it, and how your knife dropped on the schoolroom floor this
morning when you were saying your lessons?"

"But I must put them somewhere," answered John peevishly. "I can't
leave them behind, and I can't carry them in my hand when I am mending
my ship."

"I've got a capital idea!" broke in Betty. "We will have a
treasure-house in the Eagle's Nest, and we can safely hide away the
things we d