lly looked the picture of disheartened woe, but it was not her nature
to give way to tears. She felt absolutely dismayed and utterly cast
down, as if under a depression that would not lift, but she gave no
physical sign of this except by her tense, drawn face and her frequent
despairing sighs.

"It's just awful, girlies," said Mrs. Rose, full of helpless sympathy;
"but I can't think of anything to do. I don't believe you could make
another cake successfully, you're too nervous and upset, both of you."

Maria, however, did not take it so calmly. Her grief was more boisterous
even than Dolly's. She ran round the kitchen, throwing her apron over
her head, and wailing and moaning like a crazy woman.

"Oh, dat cake! dat cake!" she groaned, dropping into a chair and rocking
back and forth in ecstasies of woe. "Dat hebenly cake! Sho'ly Miss Dotty
and Miss Dolly yo' could make anudder. I kin help yo', and we'll whisk
it up in a jiffy. Do make some kind, oh do, now!"

"No, Maria," and Dolly looked positive; "we can't make another cake.
It's out of the question. Shall we go to the fair at all, Dot?"

"Yes, of course we will! I want to find out what girl was mean enough
and smart enough to cut up this trick!"

"Come on then. You'd better wash your face, you're all teary looking. I
s'pose we might as well go, but I don't feel a bit like it. All the
fun's gone out of it."

Dotty ran away to bathe her reddened eyes, and Dolly gravely walked
round the kitchen, looking here and there as if the cake might have
voluntarily hidden itself somewhere.

"It's most mysterious," said Mrs. Rose. "I never heard of anything being
stolen up in this region before. I wish Mr. Rose were here, but of
course he couldn't do anything, and I think we may feel sure that he
didn't steal the cake."

"Where is he?" asked Dolly, smiling a little at the jest.

"Gone over to the Norris camp, I think. I wish the boys were here; of
course they couldn't do anything, but they could help us express our
indignation."

"Yes, they could do that, but it wouldn't do any real good. Hello, Dot,
ready?"

The two girls started off down the path and Mrs. Rose watched them go
with a sad heart. She knew how disappointed they were, after all their
trouble to make the cake, and she couldn't imagine what had become of
it.

"I can't believe any of the girls came and took it," she said to Maria.

"No, ma'am, dat dey didn't! dat cake was sperrited away by ghos'es.
Dat