gh.

"Never mind," said Mother Blake, as she saw Hal looking at himself in
dismay. "It will all wash off. Better to have it on your waist than on the
carpets. Why, Mab! What's the matter?" for Mab was crying softly.

"Oh--Oh, my--my nice ca-cake is all spoiled," she sobbed.

"Oh, no it isn't!" comforted Mother Blake. "Only one pan of dough is
spilled, and there is plenty more. The kitchen floor can easily be washed,
and so can Roly Poly.

"Hal," went on his mother, "you take the dog up to the bath tub and give
him a good scrubbing. He'll like that. Take off your own waist and let the
water run on that. I'll wipe up the floor and you can fill another pan and
put it in the oven, Mab. Don't cry! We'll have the cake in time for supper
yet."

So Mab dried her tears and once more began on the cake, while Mrs. Blake
cleaned up the dough from the floor. In a little while the cake was baking
in the oven, and Hal came down stairs, rather wet and splattered, but
clean. With him was Roly-Poly, looking half drowned, but also clean.

"Well, we did a lot of things!" said Hal, when he had on dry clothes, and
he and Mab were waiting for the cake to be baked, after which the
chocolate would be spread over it. "It was fun, wasn't it?"

"I--I guess so," answered Mab, not quite sure. "Did I hurt Roly when I
stepped on him?"

"I guess not. He splashed water all over me when I put him in the bath
tub, though. I pretended he was a submarine ship and he swam all around."

"I wish I had seen him."

"I'll make him do it again," and Hal started toward the stairs with Roly
in his arms.

"No, please don't!" laughed Mother Blake. "One bath a day is enough.
Besides, I think it's time to take the cake out, Mab."

When the chocolate had been spread on, and Hal had scraped out the dish,
giving Mab a share even though she had said she did not want any, the
front door was heart to shut.

"Here comes Daddy!" cried Mab.

"Oh, I wonder if he brought anything?" said Hal, racing after his sister.

Daddy Blake did have a package in his arms, and he was smiling. He put the
bundle down on the table and caught up first Mab and then Hal for a hearty
kiss.

"Well, how are you all to-day?" he asked.

"I just baked a cake," answered Mab.

"And the dough went all over Roly-Poly, and I made believe he was a
submarine ship in the bath tub," added Hal. "We had lots of fun."

"Before that we didn't thought," spoke Mab. "We wanted to play something
ne