three o'clock came, how glad they were to go
dancing out into the sunshine again, and walk home along the familiar
road, with the air sweet about them, and the little birds singing in the
fields.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THE FAIR.

For many weeks Eileen and Larry kept the Secret. They told no one but
Dennis and Grannie Malone, and they both promised they would never,
never tell.

Mr McQueen worked hard--early and late--over his turnips and cabbages
and potatoes, and Larry and Eileen helped by feeding the pig and
chickens, and driving the cows along the roadsides, where they could get
fresh sweet grass to eat.

One evening Mr McQueen said to his wife. "Rent-day comes soon, and
next week will be the Fair."

Larry and Eileen heard him say it. They looked at each other and then
Eileen went to her Father and said, "Dada, will you take Larry and me to
the Fair with you? We want to sell our pig."

"_You_ sell your pig!" cried Mr McQueen. "You mean you want to sell it
_yourselves_?"

"You can help us," Eileen answered; "but it's our pig and we want to
sell it, don't we, Larry?"

Larry nodded his head up and down very hard with his mouth tight shut.
He was so afraid the Secret would jump out of it!

"Well, I never heard the likes of that!" said McQueen. He slapped his
knee and laughed.

"We've got it all planned," said Eileen. She was almost ready to cry
because her Father laughed at her. "We've fed the pig and fed her,
until she's so fat she can hardly walk, and we are going to wash her
clean, and I have a ribbon to tie on her ear. Diddy will look so fine
and stylish, I'm sure some one will want to buy her!"

Mrs McQueen was just setting away a pan of milk. She stopped with the
pan in her hand.

"Leave them go," she said.

Mr McQueen smoked awhile in silence. At last he said:--

"It's your own pig, and I suppose you can go, but you'll have a long day
of it."

"The longer the better," said the Twins.

All that week they carried acorns, and turnip-tops, and everything they
could find that was good for pigs to eat, and fed them to Diddy, and she
got fatter than ever.

The day before the Fair, they took the scrubbing-pail and the broom, and
some water, and scrubbed her until she was all pink and clean. Then
they put her in a clean place for the night, and went to bed early so
they would be ready to get up in the morning.

When the first cock crowed, before daylight the next morning, Eileen's
eye