for blackfish off the rocks beyond Sokennet the
next morning.

"We'll go over in the _Miraflame_"--(that was the name of the motor
boat)--"and we'll take somebody with us to help Phineas," Heavy
declared. Phineas was the boatman who had charge of Mr. Stone's little
fleet. "Phin is a great cook and he'll get us up a regular fish
dinner----"

"Oh, dear, Jennie Stone! how _can_ you?" broke in Helen, with her hands
clasped.

"How can I _what_, Miss?" demanded the stout girl, scenting trouble.

"How can you, when we are eating such a perfect dinner as this, be
contemplating any other future occasion when we possibly shall be
hungry?"

The others laughed, but Heavy looked at her school friends with growing
contempt. "You talk--you talk," she stammered, "well! you don't
talk English--that I'm sure of! And you needn't put it all on me. You
all eat with good appetites. And you'd better thank me, not quarrel
with me. If I didn't think of getting nice things to eat, you'd miss a
lot, now I tell you. You don't know how I went out in Mammy Laura's
kitchen this very morning, before most of you had your hair out of
curl-papers, and just _slaved_ to plan the meals for to-day."

"Hear! hear!" chorused the boys, drumming with their knife handles on
the table. "We're for Jennie! She's all right."

"See!" flashed in Mercy, with a gesture. "Miss Stone has won the
masculine portion of the community by the only unerring way--the only
straight path to the heart of a boy is through his stomach."

"I guess we can all thank Jennie," said Ruth, laughing quietly, "for
her attention to our appetites. But I fear if she had expected to fast
herself to-day she'd still be abed!"

They were all lively at dinner, and they spent a lively evening, towards
the end of which Bob Steele gravely went out of doors and brought in an
old boat anchor, or kedge, weighing so many pounds that even he could
scarcely carry it upstairs to the bed chamber which he shared with Tom
and Isadore.

"What are you going to do with that thing, Bobby Steele?" demanded his
sister.

"Going to anchor Busy Izzy to it with a rope. I bet he won't walk far
in his sleep to-night," declared Bobbins.

With the fishing trip in their minds, all were astir early the next
morning. Miss Kate had agreed to go with them, for Mercy believed that
she could stand the trip, as the sea was again calm. She could remain in
the cabin of the motor boat while the others were fishing off the