hasty in your judgments, Lady Mary," answered Percy,
composedly gathering up the slices of bread. "That was a song of joy
because a beautiful damozel approached with bread for the hungry."

"Hungry?" repeated Miss Campbell, watching, unmoved, the process of
shaking the pine needles from the bread. "Starving, rather. If I don't
have my dinner in a minute, I shall be light enough to float away like a
thistledown."

"Who said starving?" cried Dr. Hume, joining the circle. "If there were
a stronger word, I'd use it."

"Famished?" suggested Ben.

"Perishing for want of food," added Elinor.

Nancy and Billie exchanged glances of dismay and Billie impotently
poked the pot of vegetables with a long peeled wand.

"What's that thing that looks like an emigrant's roll?" demanded the
doctor.

"It won't explode, I hope," remarked Miss Campbell, noticing that the
roll of meat seemed to be bursting its bonds in the process of roasting.

"Poor thing, it does seem to be suffering," said Dr. Hume gravely.
"There is some enlargement taking place in its internal organs, due to
heat expansion, I judge."

"I guess that animal, whatever it is, feels something like an early
Christian martyr," put in Percy.

"What is the creature?" inquired Miss Campbell, raising her tortoise
shell lorgnette in order the better to see the writhing form over the
flames.

"It's a duck," answered Billie, desperately stirring the kettle of
vegetables.

"Duck?" they shouted in a loud chorus.

"There never was a duck on land or sea that looked like that."

"Where are its legs?"

"Was it a winged duck?"

"Perhaps it's a species of wingless, legless mountain duck, unknown to
low countries?"

"Well, if you must know," cried Billie, now very hot and red over the
fire, and wishing devoutly that that brutally truthful speech about
watched pots had never been made, "if you demand the truth, it's mock
duck----"

"It sounds like the name of a Chinese laundry-man," put in Percy.

"Made by a famous Southern recipe. We didn't know it would take so long
to cook." She was ashamed to mention the potatoes and onions. "If you
are all so famished, you might start on the bread and butter."

Instantly they gathered around the table and Percy passed around the
bread tray. From bread they turned to the salad of tomatoes and
cucumbers. Lettuce did not seem to flourish in that country. They drank
the ginger ale and ate all the olives, and still the spurious fowl