to great
exertion at any time.

Carrying their sweaters and a box of food they started off for their
tramp in the woods.

"I want to get a whole lot of birch bark," Dolly said, as they walked
along; "let's look for particularly nice pieces and get a whole lot to
take with us down to the seashore."

"What for?"

"Oh, to make fancy work out of. Everybody does fancy work and they have
bazaars, something like the one where we took the cake prize. And we can
make lovely things out of birch bark for the bazaar tables."

"All right, we'll gather a heap. What shall we do with our cake prize,
Doll, save it or spend it?"

"I'd rather spend it. I think it would be nice if we bought something
special with it. Two things you know, just alike, to remember our first
cake by."

"Something to wear?"

"Maybe. A ring or a pin or something."

"Couldn't get much of a ring for ten dollars. And we've got a lot of
little fancy pins, both of us. What do you say to a gold pencil for
each?"

"Only they never write very well; the leads are so hard."

"That's so. Well maybe beads, or how about a lace collar?"

"Let's wait till we get down to Surfwood and ask Trudy. She'll tell us
something nice, and maybe we'll buy something there, or else in New York
as we go through on the way down."

"All right. Here's some good birch bark, only it's yellowish. Let's keep
on till we find some whiter."

The pair rambled on, happily chatting and laughing and now and then
sitting down to rest or to refresh themselves from the box of lunch
which was rapidly growing lighter.

"We have an awful lot of bark," said Dotty, looking at the big bundles
they had collected.

"Yes, too much. Let's chuck out the worst pieces and just keep the best.
And I'd like some more of that silvery kind. It's awful pretty combined
with this dark yellow to make things."

"We want to get some big pieces. A portfolio of the silvery kind lined
with yellow is lovely."

"Yes, with one corner turned back and a ribbon bow on it."

"Yes, or tied with sweet grass. There's a big tree on ahead. We can get
some there, I'm sure."

"All right and there's another tree out there,--that's a dandy."

Eagerly they went on, absorbed in their fascinating quest. For the
hunting of birch bark is ever enticing and lures one on to further
treasures like a mirage.

"We can't carry another scrap," said Dolly, at last, laughing to see
Dotty with her arms full of rolls of bark and more p