head.

"Aw, not there!" Billiard protested, seeing that his brother's thoughts
had evidently been running in the same channel. "Down to Uncle Jim's,
I mean."

Scarcely shifting his position, dutiful Toady craned his neck around a
boulder, surveyed the quiet mountainside in the waning afternoon light,
and again shook his head.

"Creep down and see what they're doing. Maybe they are talking about
us."

"Go yourself," returned Toady briefly.

"Aw, come now, Toady! She ain't so mad at you, and besides, you're
littler. They wouldn't see you so quick."

Still Toady remained seated.

"We'll have to have some water to wash off this stuff before she'll let
us in to--to apologize," wheedled Billiard.

"_Are_ you going to apologize?"

"Looks like we got to," answered the older boy gloomily. "She's a
reg'lar cyclone. Smashed up half our things already, and like enough
she will sick the sheriff on us like she said, 'nless we
do--er--apologize."

It was very evident that Billiard was not in the habit of apologizing
for anything; and Toady, grinning with no little satisfaction at his
brother's discomfiture, arose and slowly descended by a roundabout
trail to the cottage. He was gone a long time and Billiard was growing
decidedly restless and anxious when he appeared in sight once more.
"She's--they are going to write to Uncle Hogan!" he announced
breathlessly.

"Uncle Hogan!" cried Billiard in dismay.

"Yes, that's just what I heard them say. Mercedes told her how Uncle
Hogan----"

"I'll get even with Miss Mercedes," Billiard interrupted fiercely.

"You better get that paint off your face and hike for the house with
your apology," advised the more easily persuaded brother, "else you'll
never have a chance to get even with anybody again."

"Why?"

"Because if we don't promise to be good inside of an hour, they are
going to ask the--the--some man, sort of a policeman, I guess, to look
after us until Uncle Hogan answers."

"Do you really think they'd write to Uncle Hogan?"

"Sure! Tabitha knows him. She and that Glory girl with the red hair
kept him all night last winter off some mountain he wanted to climb
'cause they didn't know who he was. She had a gun and shot at them;
but when her father got there he said 'twas all right, and Uncle Hogan
thinks Tabitha is the whole cheese now."

"Supposing we do--apologize, will they write to him still?"

"No, I guess not. If you'll promise to behave, they wi