scornful air.

"Haven't you made a mistake, Miss?" she said. "My name is Lola Montague
and my friend is Miss Marie Fortesque."

"Sure they are," said the excited Nan. "I know they are your names, for
you chose them yourselves. But I was at your house, Sallie Morton, the
day of the big blizzard--the very day after you and Celia ran away. And
if you'd seen how your mother cried, and how badly your father felt--

"And _your_ mother is worried to death about you, Celia Snubbins; and
your father, Si, who is a dear old man, said he'd give everything he
owned to get you back--"

"Oh, oh!" gasped Celia, and burst into tears again.

"Listen to this, Sallie Morton!" added Nan, rummaging in her shopping bag
and bringing forth Mrs. Morton's letter. She read some of the letter
aloud to the girls.

"Now, Sallie, how dare you stay away from a mother like that? You've both
just got to come with me. I should think you'd have found out by this
time that neither of you will ever be famous as motion picture
actresses."

"We have!" gulped Celia, plucking up a little courage. "You know we
have, Sallie. That Mr. Gray told us to go back and milk the cows--you
know he did!"

Sallie, determined as she was, was softened by her mother's letter. She
said: "Well--if they'll have us back, I s'pose we might as well go. But
everybody will laugh at us, Celia."

"Let 'em laugh!" cried her friend. "They won't laugh any harder than
those folk in that studio did when we tried to act for the movies."

Their experience searching for work at the film studios all over
Chicago had taught the two country girls something, at least. They had
seen how poor people have to live in the city, and were going back to
their country homes with an appreciation of how much better off they
were there.

First, however, Nan forgot to buy her gloves; and instead took Sallie and
Celia back to the Mason house with her. When she explained the situation
to Walter and sent him out to telegraph to Mr. Morton, the boy laughingly
nick-named the big Mason home, "The Wayfarers' Inn."

"If you stayed here a month longer, Nan Sherwood, you'd have the house
filled with waifs and strays," he declared.

Sallie and Celia that evening divided interest with the masquerade party.
The next day at noon, however, the fathers of the two girls arrived and
took them home.

The farmers were grateful--loquaciously so on Mr. Si Snubbins' part--to
Mr. and Mrs. Mason for housing the runaways