aces, be off with you. Go and wash
yourselves clean, if you can, and don't keep me waiting any longer for
my dinner. A hungry man's an angry man, you know." And he sent them off
with a flourish of his stick.

When they came to the dining-room the change in their appearance caused
the doctor's eyes to twinkle, but he made no remark. Alan's face
positively shone with soap, for though the application of it had made
his many scratches smart, he had manfully persisted in the most vigorous
cleansing operations. He had soaked his hair with water to make it lie
down, but there was one lock in the region of the crown of his head
which had refused to accept his ministrations. The girls, too, had
smoothed their hair, brushed their clothes, and composed their
countenances. All three looked as solemn as judges as they took their
seats.

Marjory was afraid that their unpunctuality boded ill for the chance of
getting the doctor's consent to their trying to open the old chest. They
sat demurely, taking their soup in silence. After a little while sounds
were heard like the fizzling of ginger beer in hot weather, and at last
Blanche burst into a peal of laughter. Marjory looked anxiously at Dr.
Hunter to see what he thought of this disturbance, but to her relief and
surprise he was laughing too. Really her Uncle George was getting much
nicer than he used to be, she thought.

"Well, Blanche, what's the joke?" he asked.

As soon as she could speak she replied,--

"It's Alan; he does look so _dreadfully_ funny--one bit of hair
sticking up, and the rest all plastered so smooth and meek-looking, and
his face--oh dear!" And she laughed again. "I'm sure he was never meant
to look so solemn."

Alan instinctively put up his hand to try to persuade the offending lock
of hair to keep its proper place, but as soon as he took away his hand
up jumped the hair again. He blushed deeply, realizing that the
attention of the party, and especially of the doctor, who, to him, was a
most awesome personage, was fixed upon himself; but in the end he joined
in the laugh against his appearance as heartily as the rest.

Thus the ice was broken, and conversation began to flow, soon developing
into a graphic account of the rat hunt.

"I saw Peter careering about like a youngster," said the doctor,
laughing. "He'll be sorry enough to-morrow when he's as stiff as a
board, but I believe he enjoyed the fun as much as any of you." And he
laughed again.

Marjo