r the clue. It was going to
happen that night.
Katherine went "straight up in the air." "They sha'n't burn Eeny-Meeny!"
she declared, shaking her fist above her head. "They'll only touch her
over my prostrate body!"
Many were the elaborate plans made for Eeny-Meeny's defense. Katherine's
plan was voted the simplest and best. "Hide her!" she suggested, and
this course was agreed upon. But simple as this plan sounded it
presented unexpected difficulties. They couldn't get a chance to do it.
No matter when they approached Eeny-Meeny there was always one of the
Sandwiches close at hand.
"They're picketing her!" announced Katherine, baffled in several
attempts. "I pretended I wanted to touch her up with color and carried
her away from the Council Rock, and the Captain came right along, so I
had to do it, and the minute I was through he insisted on carrying her
back and I couldn't object without rousing his suspicions, so back she
went. Now Slim's sitting and leaning his head against her."
"The thing to do," said Hinpoha, "is to have a counter attraction at the
other end of the island that will draw them all away, and in the
meantime one of us can hide her."
"Good," said Katherine, "what shall we do?"
"It ought to be a panic," said Hinpoha, "and then if we yell loud enough
they'll forget everything and run to the rescue."
"What would we scream for?" asked Gladys.
"Oh, for most anything," answered Hinpoha. "The main idea is to scream
loud enough to start a panic. I'll think up something in a minute."
"Well, let us know when you're ready, and we'll bring our voices," said
Gladys.
Hinpoha departed to attend to her dinner duties and Katherine went out
into the woods to look for berries. In a little hollow she stumbled over
Antha, sitting in a heap against a tree shedding tears into her
handkerchief. "What's the matter?" asked Katherine, sinking down beside
her. She was so used to seeing Antha in tears that she was not greatly
concerned, but out of general sympathy she inquired what was the matter.
"I want to go home!" wailed Antha. "This is a horrible mean old place
and I can't have any fun at all."
"Why can't you have any fun?" asked Katherine.
"Because you girls are always running away from me and having secrets
that you won't tell me," said Antha with a gulp. "You're doing something
now that you won't let me know about."
True enough. They hadn't told Antha about the danger threatening
Eeny-Meeny
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