Ernest turned in despair to Sherm, who was examining the neat stitching ruefully. Sherm grinned; "Guess we might as well take our medicine. Score one for the kids!" "I think they might take a joke the way it was intended." "They seem to have taken the joke and a few other things besides." Sherm chuckled. Ernest laughed, too, a little sulkily. "We're elected to stay at home all right, but I'll get ahead of them if it takes a month!" By the time the boys had rearrayed themselves and come downstairs, the occupants of the grape arbor had vanished. They didn't return until the enemy had departed for a ride to soothe its ruffled feelings. The girls retired to bed early, as innocent young people should. "Did you have a good time at Mamie's last night?" asked Chicken Little at breakfast the next morning. "Mamie's? We didn't go to Mamie's." "No? I thought you intended to." This from Katy. "You girls do get the queerest notions in your heads," observed Ernest loftily. Gertie giggled. The boys looked at Gertie; they hadn't suspected Gertie. Katy also giggled, likewise Chicken Little. There is something exceedingly contagious about giggling. Ernest became even loftier. "You girls seem to spend about half your time cackling--I hope you know what you are cackling about." "We do," retorted Chicken Little, still sweetly. Ernest and Sherm exchanged glances. After breakfast Ernest asked his mother if she had told the girls what happened the night before. "Not a word. They didn't ask me." "Humph!" The boy was puzzled. At noon they took another tack. "I forgot to tell you that Mamie sent her regards to you and Katy," Ernest remarked casually. "She said she was sorry you didn't come, too," added Sherm. Jane lifted her eyebrows at Katy. Katy shook her head. "By the way, Sis, I forgot to tell you that Captain Clarke invited us all to come over to supper to-morrow night. He said to tell you he appreciated that bread very much. And while I think of it, if you can spare a little of your valuable time, I'd thank you to rip that stitching out of our clothes. I want to wear mine to the Captain's." "All right, we'll rip out the stitching if you'll bake us a batch of bread as good as the one you took." "Not much, Mary Ann! We took the bread to the Captain, all right." "Yes, but we only intended to send one loaf--and, besides, you made us a lot of trouble." "Mother, haven't the girls got to take out that stitching?" "I think Jane's proposition is a fair one, Ernest," observed Dr. Morton dryly. The boys retired to their room early that night where they worked most industriously with scissors and penknife and clothes brush. They had paid a hurried visit to Chicken Little's room when they first came upstairs. This visit did much to sweeten their hour of labor.