e ground by the thick vines growing upon it. But those five feet
intervening looked a perfect gulf, and how to get over them was a poser.
Jump it she dared not; step it she could not. It began to look as though
she must signal to the girls in the closet to haul in their big fish, when
she chanced to spy something sticking up through the honeysuckle vines.
Crawling carefully down to the edge of the shed, she peered over, and saw
the ends of the gardener's ladder. Pauline had not made a mistake when she
called her a monkey, for in just one second she was at the bottom of that
ladder.

"Now I'm all right, and will soon have the girls free," and off she
scurried to the side of the house upon which Toinette's room was situated.
Gathering up a handful of soft earth she threw it against the window, but
with no result. Then a second one followed. Had she but known it, Toinette
and her revellers had long ago given them up, and were now down in the old
laundry spreading forth their array of goodies. After wasting considerable
time, Marie suddenly bethought her of the above fact, and instantly
skipped off to that Mecca.

There was not a ray of light visible, but, happily, sight is not the only
sense with which we are endowed, and Marie's ears were as keen as her
eyes. Giving the three signal taps upon one of the tightly closed
window-blinds, she waited a reply. But the girls were not expecting taps
from that quarter, and at once became suspicious. But precious moments
were fleeing, and Marie was becoming desperate, so, flinging prudence to
the winds, she gave three sounding bangs upon that window, and called
out:

"If you don't open this window and let me in I'll set Mother Stone on your
track, sure as you live!"

Open flew the window, and a moment later Marie was relating her
experiences to them. Then came the question of rescuing the others. Not an
easy one to answer. But Marie had gone so far, and, being a very
resourceful little body, had no notion of giving up yet, and saying to the
revellers: "I'm going to let those girls out if I have to take the door
down to do it," off she flitted, as quickly and silently as a butterfly.
In less time than it takes to tell it she stood outside their prison, and
saying, encouragingly: "Don't give up, girls; I'll soon have you out," she
slipped into the sewing-room opposite, and emerged a second later with the
little oil-can and screw-driver from the machine drawer.

"For gracious sake,