that's not fair," cried Teddy, with a guilty note in his
voice that made his two comrades look at him accusingly.

"Aha, we see the villain!" cried Ferd threateningly. "What'll we do with
him, Chet?"

"Nothing's bad enough for such a crime," said Chet ruefully. "What did
you make such a break for, Ted? I thought I'd brought you up better."

"Gee, Billie, do you see what you've let me in for?" said Ted miserably,
but Billie only regarded him with laughing eyes while Laura and Violet
seemed to be enjoying the situation immensely.

"I don't see what I did," Billie replied innocently. "I thought I was
paying you boys a compliment by saying that you could cook well."

"But we can't," cried Ferd, seizing the opportunity eagerly. "Gee,
Billie, you couldn't eat the awful messes we make. Why, you're a
good cook--"

Billie raised a cushion threateningly in the air.

"None of that! None of that!" she warned him. "We see through you,
villain!"

"Say, she must think you're one of the Cherry Corners ghosts," broke in
Teddy whimsically. "It's pretty hard on a fellow when you can see through
him, Billie."

"But honest you couldn't," Ferd insisted, not to be defeated in this one
last hope. "Really, I don't know enough about an egg to take the shell
off when I fry it."

"Idiot," cried Billie, throwing the pillow at him in earnest. "Who ever
heard of fried egg in the shell?"

"I did," cried Ferd, unabashed by the laughter and the scornful glances
turned his way. "Ladies and gentlemen, you see before you to-night the
man that invented it."

"Well, but nobody has answered my question," said Billie demurely,
after the laughter had subsided. "Are the boys going to help cook or
are they not?"

"I tell you what," said Chet desperately. "We'll cook if you will promise
to eat it."

"Billie," cried Laura in alarm, "don't make any rash promises. They would
probably put some awful thing into the food on purpose."

"Laura, that's some idea," cried Ferd, looking at her admiringly while
Teddy and Chet chuckled. "Thanks. We never would have thought of that
ourselves."

"Well," said Billie with a little chuckle, "I imagine we would rather eat
our own cooking anyway, so you needn't worry. Only," she added warningly,
as they sighed with relief, "there is one thing you _will_ have to do."

"And what's that?" they cried fearfully.

"Help wash the dishes," she said; and in her tone was no relenting.

And so, even to the impatient gir