e breakfast d-d-dishes. F-f-frogs!"

"Oh! I see, you're worried about all that chorus work they kept up last
night, and mebbe you think there were some who sang off-key, which
bothers your musical ear, so you want to pick 'em out, and even things
up," and Steve grinned as he said this, because he did not have as high
an opinion of Toby's accomplishments in the line of music as he might.

"I'm not pretending to have any such c-c-classical n-n-notion," the
accused one indignantly declared; "it's a c-c-case of dinner with me. I
l-l-like frogs' legs, and they l-l-like me first-rate; so when things
agree that way, what's the sense of k-k-keepin' 'em separate?"

"No use at all, Toby," admitted Steve, as though he had seen a great
light, "and if you feel like growing a pair of frogs' legs in place of
the ones you've got now, why, I wouldn't throw a thing in the way. Only
I warn you it would be dangerous practicing singing frog songs by
daylight."

Toby did not answer this thrust, only sniffed, and turned away.

Each of the others had a number of things scheduled for attention on
this morning. The camp was in pretty good trim by now, but there always
seems to be something that can be done in order to make it more
cheerful; and Max was one of those fellows who like to potter around,
making improvements.

Steve wanted to wander over in the direction of the farmhouse, and tried
to find some good excuse for going; but the milk supply promised to hold
out for the day, and they certainly would not need more eggs until the
next morning.

The fact of the matter was he had heard the accounts of how Max and
Bandy-legs had been so splendidly treated by Mrs. Ketcham with more or
less envy; because it happened that Steve was passionately fond of
doughnuts of the old-fashioned New England cruller kind; and he hoped
the farmer's wife might still have a nest of the same in her big stone
crock.

He even suggested that possibly Bandy-legs might like to go with him, so
as to take a picture of the big watchdog that had given him such a
lively time, in order to keep the adventure green in his memory. But
having other things laid out for that morning to keep him busy, the
other chum respectfully but firmly declined to be coaxed into making a
four mile tramp, when there was really no need of it.

So poor disappointed Steve had to give up for that day his hope of
obtaining any of those choice doughnuts.

"And chances are," he was heard to