heavy stick, and I dare say they
were armed beside. As soon as I saw them, I called for them to go away,
that I had nothing for them, but they were bold enough to stay and argue
the point."

"What did they say, Aunt Abigail?"

"Don't ask me. I kept my self-possession perfectly, but at the same time
I was excited, and didn't understand what they were saying. I presume
they were demanding food and money and I kept declaring that I would
give them nothing. At last they gave up and went off in the direction of
Mrs. Snooks, and then I rushed down-stairs and locked everything up just
as you found it."

It was clear that Aunt Abigail had found her experience trying. She was
pale and seemed very unlike her usual composed self. Conscience stricken
over having left her by herself, the girls petted her and asked
innumerable questions, few of which Aunt Abigail was able to answer. But
she described her unwelcome callers in detail, and Peggy found herself
thinking that they bore more than a superficial resemblance to the
desperadoes of Treasure Island. She could not help wondering if Aunt
Abigail's lively imagination, excited first by her reading, and then by
her vivid dream, had not added some touches to the picture.

"Well, girls," Peggy said at length, in a tone surprisingly
matter-of-fact considering the circumstances, "I guess supper is the
next thing in order. After we've had something to eat--"

She stopped abruptly. A loud knocking at the back door echoed through
the cottage. Amy uttered a scream, clapping her hands over her mouth
instantly, to stifle the sound. The others instinctively moved closer to
one another, exchanging frightened glances. Hobo growled softly, the
hair on his neck bristling and giving him a peculiarly savage
appearance.

The knocking broke off for a moment, and then was resumed. "They've come
back," said Aunt Abigail.

"Why, perhaps it's only Mrs. Snooks come to borrow something," Peggy was
beginning hopefully, when out at the rear of the cottage somebody
laughed. Whatever the cause of the unseemly merriment, Mrs. Snooks was
not responsible for it. Peggy's sudden anger went to her head. She felt
as if she had forgotten the meaning of fear. "I'm going to tell them,"
she exclaimed, "that if they don't go away, I'll set the dog on them."

She marched out into the kitchen, Hobo following, and as she reached the
door, the knocking began for the third time. "If you don't go away,"
shouted Peggy th