ried away.

That afternoon when the kitchen was all tidy Mother Blair sat down with
a pencil and a sheet of paper and wrote out all about the supper. This
is what she planned to have, and after each dish she wrote the name of
the one who was to make it:

Cream dried beef (Mildred)
Corn bread (Jack)
Cocoa (Brownie)
Fresh apple-sauce (Mildred)
Cake (see cake box)

When the three younger Blairs came home and supper time approached, they
found this pinned up in the kitchen, and with it the only receipts they
needed:

CREAMED DRIED BEEF

1 box of shaved dried beef (or 1/4 of a pound if you buy it at the
butcher's).
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful flour.
1 cup of hot milk.
2 shakes of pepper.

Cut the beef up into tiny bits; pour boiling water over it and let
it stand one minute; pour it off and squeeze the meat dry.

Put the butter in the frying-pan and let it melt; when it bubbles,
add the flour and stir till smooth; add the hot milk and pepper,
and last the meat; stir till it thickens like cream; serve on
squares of hot buttered toast.

"Easy!" said Mildred as she read the receipt over. "Same old white
sauce; it's funny how that is used over and over. I think I'll let that
wait till just before supper time to make, and get the apple-sauce
going. That sounds easy, too."

APPLE SAUCE

6 large, tart apples.
1 cup of sugar.
1/2 cup water.
1/4 teaspoonful cinnamon.

Wipe the apples, cut in quarters, peel and core them. Cut up small
and put in a saucepan with the water; cook gently till they are
soft, and then add the sugar. When they are transparent and rather
smooth they are done; take them up, and either serve as they are,
or if you wish, put them through the colander. Sprinkle with
cinnamon.

While Mildred was making this, Brownie laid the table, just as she had
learned weeks before; then she got out her receipt-book and made the
cocoa by that, while Jack made the corn bread by his own camp rule,
reciting it aloud as he mixed the different things and shook down the
fire and saw that his oven was hot.

"You learn a lot of things camping, Mildred," he said when he finished
and cleared up his mixing bowl and other things and wiped off the table.
"I never had any idea how careful you had to be to keep things ship
shape till I lived with Father up in the woods. He made me clean up
after every single