ome breakfast," said her father, and so she
hurriedly ate--it might be said "gobbled," if it were not so
unladylike--the breakfast that Mrs. Jenkins placed before her.

If it had not been for the real cause of her excitement the boys might
have found amusing her effort to gulp down her whole breakfast in the
time one usually takes to drink a cup of coffee. As it was, they
sympathized, and once when she choked and became painfully red in the
face, Ferd gravely handed her a glass of water and Teddy gallantly
offered to pat her on the back.

When, contrary to everybody's expectations, the meal came to an end
without any further mishap, Billie crumpled her napkin into a ball and
threw it on the table.

"I won't eat another bite for anybody," she said, adding, as she started
for the hall: "I'll put on my hat and be right with you."

In the bedroom she found that Laura and Violet had turned over for a nap
and she stood for half a minute looking down at them reflectively and a
little scornfully.

"Go ahead--sleep," she said under her breath. "It isn't your five
thousand dollars." This was hardly fair, seeing that that five thousand
dollars meant almost as much to Laura and Violet as to Billie herself in
the happiness it would bring.

With one last disgusted look she fled from the room and joined the boys
and Mr. Bradley in the hall. Mrs. Jenkins had directed them to the
station, and, anxious to waste no further time, they set off at once.

"Daddy, do you suppose we'll find it?" asked Billie, her breath coming
fast. "There were a good many trunks destroyed in the baggage car,
weren't there?"

"It was hard to tell the extent of the damage," said Mr. Bradley,
anxious to reassure her, yet afraid to raise her hopes too high.
"However," he said, quickening his step a little, "there's the station
right before us, so we ought to find out before long."

Early as they were, there was already a line of people on the rickety
station platform and Billie was seized with a fresh spasm of dismay.

"Goodness! they couldn't possibly have saved trunks enough to go round,"
she cried, and Teddy, though he was feeling very anxious himself,
laughed at her.

"There were two baggage cars, both loaded, you know," he reminded her.
"And one of them wasn't touched by the fire. We'll hope yours was in
that one."

"Oh, Teddy, you're such a comfort!" she cried, and squeezed his arm
gratefully, at which Teddy flushed happily.

"Have we got to