will stay all night if the sleeping is
good. Everything is ready for supper; just help yourselves."

"Of all things!" exclaimed Mr. Evans in vexation. "Just the day we have
a guest I am particularly anxious to have them meet they take it into
their heads to go off and spend the night. Where on earth is the Point
of Pines?"

Nobody seemed to know just where it was, but they all remembered hearing
the girls talking about it and hearing them say that some time when it
was dry they were going over there by themselves with Aunt Clara and
Mrs. Evans and have a "hen party." The general idea was that the Point
of Pines was a long point running out into the water on the mainland to
the north of them, where the pines grew very tall and close together.

"Captain, you get into the launch and go over there and see if you can
find them," ordered Uncle Teddy. "It's a pity to break up a ladies'
party in such a gorgeously select and private place as the Point of
Pines, but they would never forgive us if we let them miss the chance to
meet Colonel Berry. And in the meantime, we might as well get busy on
the supper. It will be some time before they come back. Slim, you tie on
an apron and pare potatoes; Anthony, you fill the water buckets; Pitt,
you open several cans of tomatoes."

"Here, let me take a hand," said the colonel, just as though he were not
a guest. "I haven't cooked in the open most of my life for nothing." So
he found an apron and fell to work mixing biscuits. The colonel was a
tall man--six feet two--and the apron belonged to Migwan, who was short,
and when tied around his waist line it did not reach half way to his
knees. Slim's apron was long enough, but it would not go anywhere near
around him. Being unable to tie the strings he tucked the apron in over
his belt and let it go as far as it would.

"Where's the bread knife?" asked Mr. Evans, coming out of the supply
tent, after rushing around inside for several minutes in a vain search.

"Slim has it paring potatoes," said Uncle Teddy, looking around. Slim
handed it over and finished the potatoes with his pocket knife. Pitt had
broken the paring knife trying to open a can with it when he could not
find the can opener.

"Hurry up with those potatoes, Slim," called Uncle Teddy. "They ought to
be on now in order to get cooked with the rest of the things."

"Just finished," said Slim, sucking his thumb, which he had that minute
gashed with the knife. He rose and carr