y, smiling mother
greeted them from the veranda as the cars rolled up the smooth driveway
and unloaded at the door. "You are late," she said cheerily. "Did you
have any mishaps? I knew you would be hungry after your long ride, so
we are serving dinner early. Dave, did you get the squabs all right?"

"Yes, he did," Myra answered. "I sat on them all the way out here.
Dad, bring on the 'eats'. Why, what is the matter?"

Mr. Haskell stood in the driveway frowning heavily at the car, much as
he might have done at a naughty little boy. At Myra's boisterous call,
he raised his eyes and inquired, "Where _are_ the 'eats'?"

"In the chest, of course. What do you--" Her voice died away in a
husky, bewildered squeak. The rest of the party came closer, followed
the direction of her glance, and gasped. The hamper full of stuffed
squabs was gone!

"Well, of all things!" cried Gwynne, when the silence was becoming
oppressive. "How could it have happened?"

"With Myra sitting on it!" chorused the girls.

"Didn't you miss it?"

"N-o."

"Ha, ha, that's one on you, Miss Haskell," laughed Mr. Carson.
"_Sitting_ on the lunch box and never missed it when it tumbled
overboard. How did _you_ manage to stick on?"

"How did the other machines manage to come along behind us and never
find it?" retorted Myra, nettled at the hilarity of her companions.
"_That_ is the question!"

"We must have lost it in the river," suggested Tabitha.

"Of course! When we were trying to pull out the other machine and I
shaved Dad's nose. Didn't I do a good job, Mumsie? Must we go hungry
now because I lost all your little stuffed scrubs,--I mean squabs?"
Anxiously she turned toward her mother and scanned that sober face, for
her eighteen hour fast had left her half famished, and there were at
least eleven other girls in the same boat, all because of her stupid
attempt at joking.

"We-ll, I have cooked a kettle of new potatoes and another of green
corn,--plenty of both. But it looks as if you must go without meat."

"Oh, we can get along nicely, I know. Vegetables are better than meat
anyway, you know. Come on, let's eat!" At that moment she felt hungry
enough to swallow the dishes themselves, and anything sounded
appetizing to her. As the rest of the party were equally as hungry,
they were not slow to respond to her invitation, and in a very short
time the tables were stripped; but the ravenous appetites were
appeased, and the lit