hough. Perhaps when it gets dark you will be frightened."

"I never get frightened," Ruby said, tossing her head. "Now I must go
home, Ruthy. Come and walk part way with me, won't you?"

"I'll ask mamma," Ruthy answered, and gathering up her paper dolls she
ran into the house, coming back in a few minutes with two red-cheeked
apples for the little girls to eat on their way, and permission to go
as far as the corner with Ruby.

Ruby could talk and think of nothing but her great plan for the night,
and Ruthy pleaded with her in vain to give it up. The little girl was
so troubled about it that she wished Ruby had not told her about it.
She did not see how she would ever be able to go to bed that night, and
go to sleep, thinking of her little friend out alone in her little
house down by the barn. In the bottom of her heart she wished that
Ruby would be caught by Ann on her way out of the house, and prevented
from carrying out her plan, but she did not dare whisper this wish to
Ruby, as she knew how angry it would make her to think of her plans
being thwarted.

By the time Ruby reached home another plan occurred to her busy brain.
Nora was not far from right when she said that Ruby could think up more
mischief than any three children could carry out. Suppose it should be
cold in the night. Ruby could not quite remember what time in the year
it was when the Swiss Family Robinson were shipwrecked, but she knew
they had to make a fire. She would get some shavings and some little
sticks, and get a fire all ready to light in her hut, and then if it
should be cold, and she should want to light a fire, it would be all
ready.

This new idea added a great charm to the thought of staying out there
all night. She was quite sure that she would need a fire, and she
bustled around very busily when she got home, gathering up shavings
from the place where the carpenters had been at work, and getting
little sticks to lay upon them so that the fire would burn up readily.
Then she went back to the house, and going up into the spare room, took
down the match-box from the tall chest of drawers, and carried it out
to the hut where it would be all ready for the night. When this was
done she felt as if she could hardly wait for the sun to go down and
bedtime to come. She was so excited over her grand plan that her eyes
shone like stars, and her cheeks were so flushed that when her father
came in, he put his hand on her cheeks to see