s the first
time such a thought had occurred to Marjorie. His thin, dark face
lighted up.

"Everything, including thermos bottles," he called back. "We won't
stop to build a fire, because we have to hurry; but Lucille----"

"Lucille!" said Marjorie. "Well, I certainly never knew what a wretch
that girl was."

"Oh, not a wretch. Only romantic," said Francis, grinning. "I tell
you again, Marjorie, you have a fatal effect on people. Look at me--a
matter-of-fact captain of doughboys--and the minute I see that you
won't marry me--stay married to me, I mean--I elope with you in a coach
and four!"

"I don't think you ought to laugh about it," said Marjorie, sobering
down and stopping short in her tracks.

"Well, I shouldn't," said Francis penitently. "Only I'm relieved, and
a little excited, I suppose. You see, I like your society a lot, and
the idea of having it for maybe three months, on any terms you like, is
making me so pleased I'm making flippant remarks. I won't any more, if
I remember."

And he apparently meant it, for he busied himself in exploring the car,
which seemed as inexhaustible as the Mother's Bag in the Swiss Family
Robinson, for the food he had spoken of. There was a large basket,
which he produced and set on a stump, and from which he took
sandwiches, thermos flasks, and--last perfidy of Lucille!--a tin box of
shrimps a la King, carefully wrapped, and ready for reheating. He did
it in a little ready-heat affair which also emerged from the basket,
and which Marjorie knew well. It was her own, in fact. Reheated
shrimps should have killed them both, more especially for breakfast.
But they never thought of that till some days later. Marjorie was so
overcome by finding her own shrimps facing her, so to speak, that
nothing else occurred to her--except to eat them. They made a very
good breakfast, during which Francis was never flippant once. They
talked decorously about the natural scenery--fortunately for the
conversation there was a great deal of natural scenery in their
vicinity--and somewhat about pup-tents, and a little about how nice the
weather was. After that they cleared up the pieces, repacked
everything like magic, and went on their way very amicably.

CHAPTER IV

"And now that things are more or less settled, wouldn't you like to
know what we are going to do?" inquired Francis.

"Haven't I anything to do with it?" inquired Marjorie, not crossly, but
as one seeking