"I shall take off my shoes to-night," announced Bertha with dignity, after a long moment of silence. "If anything happens here we'll get into the water, of course, and I think shoes would only be a nuisance." For a moment Elsie did not answer; then, almost hopefully she asked, "I suppose if anything did happen we'd lose our clothes--even if we ourselves were saved, wouldn't we?" "Why, I--I suppose so." "Yes, that's what I thought," nodded Elsie, happily. Elsie, at the moment, was engaged in taking off a somewhat unevenly faded green chambray frock. * * * * * It was on the second day of the trip that Cordelia took from her suit-case a sheet of paper, worn with much folding and refolding, and marked plainly, "Things to do in Texas." "I suppose I might as well finish this up now," she sighed. "I'm out of Texas, and what is done is done; and what is undone can't ever be done, now." And carefully she spread the paper out and reached into her bag for her pencil. When she had finished her work, the paper read as follows: See the blue bonnet--the Texas state flower. Find out if it really is shaped like a bonnet. Didn't. Bring home a piece of prairie grass. Did. See a real buffalo. Did. (But it was in a park.) Find Hermit Joe Sanborn's son, John, who ran away to Texas twenty years ago. Didn't. See an Osage orange hedge. Did. See a broncho bursted (obviously changed over from "busted"). Did. Find out for Mrs. Miller if cowboys do shoot at sight, and yell always without just and due provocation. Did. They do not. Cowboys are good, kind gentlemen; but they are noisy, and some rough-looking. See a mesquite tree. Did. Inquire if any one has seen Mrs. Snow's daughter, Lizzie, who ran away with a Texas man named Higgins. Did. (But could not find any one who had.) Pick a fig. Didn't. See a rice canal. Did. Find out what has become of Mrs. Granger's cousin, Lester Goodwin, who went to Texas fourteen years ago. Did. See cotton growing, and pick a cotton boll, called "Texas Roses." Did. See peanuts growing. Did. Inquire for James Hunt, brother of Miss Sally Hunt. Did. (But could not find him.) See a real Indian. Did. Look at oil well for Mr. Hodges, and see if there is any there. Did. (But there wasn't any there like the one he wanted.) * * * * * The paper completed, Cordelia looked at it with troubled eyes. "It doesn't sound quite right," she thought. "Somehow, the things _I_ wanted to do are 'most all done, but I didn't find but just one of those people, and seems as if I ought to have done better than that. Besides, I'm not at all sure Mrs. Granger will be satisfied with what I did find for her--a cowboy, so!" And she sighed as she put the paper away.