ig or little, have to come. Captain Obed Bangs and his
guests enjoyed every minute of it. They inspected the various exhibits,
witnessed the horse races and the baseball game, saw the balloon
ascension, and thrilled with the rest of the great crowd at the
"parachute drop." It was six o'clock when they left the Fair grounds and
Thankful began to worry about the condition of affairs at the High Cliff
House.

"It'll be way past dinner time when you and I get there, Emily," she
said, "and goodness knows what my boarders have had to eat. Imogene's
smart and capable enough, but whether she can handle everything alone
I don't know. We ought to have started sooner, but it's nobody's fault
more'n mine that we didn't."

However, when the High Cliff House was reached its proprietor found that
her fears were groundless. But a few of the boarders had planned to eat
their evening meal there; most of the city contingent were stopping at
various teahouses and restaurants in Ostable or along the road and would
not be home until late.

"Everything's fine, ma'am," declared Imogene. "There was only three or
four here for supper and I fixed them all right. Mr. Hammond came in
late, but I fed him up and he's gone to bed. Tired out, I guess. I asked
him if he had a good time and he said he had, but it cost him a sight of
money."

Captain Obed laughed. "Caleb will have to do without his mornin'
newspapers for quite a spell to make up for today's extravagance,"
he declared. "That's what 'tis to take the girls around. Better take
warnin', John."

John Kendrick smiled. "Considering," he said, "that you and I have
almost come to blows before I was permitted to even buy a package of
popcorn with my own money, I think you need the warning more than I,
Cap'n Bangs."

"Imogene," said Thankful, "you've been a real, nice girl today; you've
helped me out a lot and I shan't forget it. Now you go to bed and rest,
so's to feel like gettin' an early start for the Fair tomorrow."

Imogene shook her head. "I can't go right now, thank you, ma'am," she
said. "I've got company."

Emily and Thankful looked at each other.

"Company!" repeated the former. "What company?"

Before Imogene could answer the dining-room door was flung open and
Hannah Parker rushed in. She was still arrayed in her Sunday gown,
which she had donned in honor of Fair Day, but her Sunday bonnet was,
as Captain Obed said afterward, "canted down to leeward" and her general
appeara