emming, stitching,
drawn-work, lace-making, crocheting.

Also we disposed of almost half a ton of toilet necessities--powder,
perfumery, cosmetics, hot-water bags, slippers, negligees, novels,
magazines, bon-bons, chewing-gum, hat-boxes, gloves, stockings,
underwear.

We left enough apparel for each lady to change once. They'd have to do
some scrubbing now. Science can not be halted by hatpins; cosmos can not
be side-tracked by cosmetics.

Toward sunset we came upon a small, crystal clear pond, set between the
bases of several lofty mountains. I was ready to drop with fatigue, but
I nerved myself, drew a deep, exultant breath, and with one of those
fine, sweeping gestures, I cried:

"Lake Mrs. Gladys Doolittle Batt! Eureka! At last! Excelsior!"

There was a profound silence behind me. I turned, striving to mask my
apprehension with a smile. The ladies were regarding the pond in
surprise. I admit that it was a pond, not a lake.

Injecting into my voice the last remnants of glee which I could summon, I
shouted, "Eureka!" and began to caper about as though the size and beauty
of the pond had affected me with irrepressible enthusiasm, hoping by my
emotion to stampede the convention.

The cold voice of Mrs. Doolittle Batt checked my transports:

"Is that puddle named after me?" she demanded.

"M-ma'am?" I stammered.

"If that wretched frog-pond has been christened with my name, somebody is
going to get into trouble," she said ominously.

A profound silence ensued. Arthur patiently switched at flies. As for
me, I looked up at the majestic pines, gazed upon the lofty and eternal
hills, then ventured a sneaking glance all around me. But I could
discover no avenue of escape in case Mrs. Batt should charge me.

"I had been informed," she began dangerously, "that the majestic body of
water, which I understood had been honoured with my name, was twelve
miles long and three miles wide. This appears to be a puddle!"

"B-b-but it's very p-pretty," I protested feebly. "It's quite round and
clear, and it's nearly a quarter of a mile in d-diameter--"

"Mind your business!" retorted Mrs. Doolittle Batt. "I've been swindled!"

Kitten Brown knew more about women than did I. He said in a fairly steady
voice:

"Madame, it is an outrage! The women of this mighty nation should make
the Government answerable for its duplicity! Your lake should have been
at least twenty miles long!"

Everybody turned and looked at Kitten. He