sulky; but Ben had much
fun out of it, assuring the other boys that those were the signs and
password of a secret society to which he and Sam belonged, and promised
to tell them all about it if Sam would give him leave, which, of course,
he would not.

This mystery, and the vain endeavors to find it out caused a lull in the
war of the wood-pile, and before any new game was invented something
happened which gave the children plenty to talk about for a time.

A week after the secret alliance was formed, Ben ran in one evening with
a letter for Miss Celia. He found her enjoying the cheery blaze of the
pine-cones the little girls had picked up for her, and Bab and Betty sat
in the small chairs rocking luxuriously as they took turns to throw on
the pretty fuel. Miss Celia turned quickly to receive the expected
letter, glanced at the writing, post-mark and stamp, with an air of
delighted surprise, then clasped it close in both hands, saying, as she
hurried out of the room,--

"He has come! he has come! Now you may tell them, Thorny."

"Tell its what? asked Bab, pricking up her cars at once.

"Oh, it's only that George has come, and I suppose we shall go and get
married right away," answered Thorny, rubbing his hands as if he enjoyed
the prospect.

"Are you going to be married? asked Betty, so soberly that the boys
shouted, and Thorny, with difficulty composed himself sufficiently to
explain.

"No, child, not just yet; but sister is, and I must go and see that all
is done up ship-shape, and bring you home some wedding-cake. Ben will
take care of you while I'm gone."

"When shall you go?" asked Bab, beginning to long for her share of cake.

"To-morrow, I guess. Celia has been packed and ready for a week. We
agreed to meet George in New York, and be married as soon as he got his
best clothes unpacked. We are men of our word, and off we go. Won't it
be fun?"

"But when will you come back again?" questioned Betty, looking anxious.

"Don't know. Sister wants to come soon, but I'd rather have our
honeymoon somewhere else,--Niagara, Newfoundland, West Point, or the
Rocky Mountains," said Thorny, mentioning a few of the places he most
desired to see.

"Do you like him?" asked Ben, very naturally wondering if the new master
would approve of the young man-of-all-work.

"Don't I? George is regularly jolly; though now he's a minister, perhaps
he'll stiffen up and turn sober. Won't it be a shame if he does?" and
Thorny