There, hidden in the thicket near the spring, were discovered Jack Kimball and Walter Pennington, while the chuckles and other noises emerging from mysterious parts of the wood indicated the presence of human beings, although the sounds had a queer similarity to that made by furry beasts. "Oh, Clip! Spare me!" called Jack, as Cecilia actually undertook to punish physically the offending young man. "I really did not think you would be scared--in fact, I had an idea you were scare-immune." "I am," declared the girl; "but the idea of me wasting sympathy! I might have discovered the dead man of all my life-long dreams--had to appear in court, and all the other delightful consequences of finding a man under suspicious circumstances; and there you are not even sick. Jack Kimball, how could you? You might at least have had the politeness to be deadly ill." Walter crawled out from the thicket. "I thought I smelled eating," he remarked, "and I suggested that we postpone the wild and woolly until we had investigated." "Oh, come on," called Cora. "We may as well allow you to move on.--You have actually interrupted the plans for our first official run.' "Good!" exclaimed Ed Foster, who, with some other young chaps, had collected themselves from the various haunts. "Any boys?" "Boys!" echoed Cora. "B-o-y-s!" drawled Maud, "chucking the imploring look," as Cecilia whispered to Cora. "We have been discussing the question," declared Bess, as they all started toward the lunch spread on the grass, "and we have now fully decided. The answer is: No boys!" This verdict brought forth the expected chorus of groans from the young men. "Indeed, you may be glad to get a fellow when you find yourselves in a good and proper smashup," declared Jack, "and I predict a smash-up about every other mile." The sight of the tempting lunch and that of the other young ladies who had not undertaken the march to the spring, was the signal for a "grand rush"--and that was about all. When the boys extricated themselves from the "rush" there was not a crumb visible. "We had all we wished," faltered the circumspect Ray Stuart. "You were entirely welcome--might have saved, at least, the dishes." "Oh," breathed Ed, "it is so much pleasanter to poach--don't spoil it." Ed cast a most appreciative glance at Ray. She expected it, of course, and accepted it with a smile. Clip was talking earnestly to Jack, Cora was being entertained by Walter, who, at the same time, managed to keep up a running conversation with the group of girls now busy putting away the lunch things. "We had a dreadful accident coming out," said Belle. "Bess ran over--" "A square meal in a square basket," interrupted Bess. "I demolished the hamper that Ida Giles had bestowed on Sidney Wilcox. It was a peace offering, I believe." "And you should have seen the kind of 'pieces' Bess made of it," commented Hazel with a merry laugh. "Hush!" hissed Ed with his finger to his lips.