t the
ladder, and were much astonished to find it gone.

"What a nuisance!" said May. "Ward must have taken it without our
hearing him. I wonder where he is?"

"We shall have to call," said Ella; "perhaps he hasn't gone very far."

None of the three noticed Patty, who was hidden by the rhododendron,
though by peeping through the leaves she was able to see them perfectly
well.

"Coo--e--e!" cried Doris, as loudly as she could.

"Cuckoo!" shouted May, hoping some passing companion might be within
earshot.

"What are we to do?" said Ella, when their calls had been repeated
several times without rousing the faintest reply.

It was rather a lonely part of the garden; most of the girls had run
from the hockey field straight into the house, and the gardener was at
that moment partaking of tea in the kitchen. Patty, who had counted on
all these points, remained quietly under cover, and suppressed her
laughter as best she could.

"I don't know; we can't possibly jump it," said May, peeping over the
edge to judge the distance between herself and the ground, and drawing
back with a shudder.

"We shall have to wait till Ward comes back," said Doris.

"Suppose he's put the ladder away, and doesn't intend to come back?"
suggested Ella.

"Then we'll have to stay here all night," said May.

"Oh, rubbish!" cried Doris. "Let us give one more good call; somebody's
sure to come."

The combined efforts of three pairs of lungs raised a lusty shout, but
beyond a slight echo there was no response.

"It's getting so dark. It must be almost tea-time, I'm sure," groaned
Ella.

"They'll miss us at tea, I expect," said Doris.

"Yes, but they won't know where to look for us. They'll hunt in every
place except the right one. No one would ever dream we were on the
roof," said May dismally.

"Call again," said Ella, who was waxing tearful.

"Cuckoo!" tried May once more, with a tinge of despair in her voice.

This time Patty judged it discreet to come to the rescue, and emerging
quietly from the shade of the rhododendron on the far side, she strolled
up in a casual manner.

"Why, what are you three doing there?" she exclaimed, with well-feigned
surprise.

"Oh, Patty! is that you?" cried Doris, with great relief. "Ward has
taken away the ladder and we can't come down. I wish you'd go and fetch
him."

"He hasn't taken the ladder away; it's lying on the ground under the
wall," replied Patty.

"Then put it up for us, that's