ne--Bob had
heard all the preceding remarks--"we'll hang our basket on a hickory
limb. It will be safe from hogs, and the leaves will hide it from
Bob."

This proposition was approved, and the basket was carried off a short
distance and slyly swung into a sapling. Then the eight went scurrying
through the woods, leaving Bob with the horses. Wherever they saw a
lemon-tinted tree-top against the sky or crowded into one of those
fine autumn bouquets a clump of trees can make, there rushed a squad
of boys, each with his basket, followed by a squad of girls, each with
her basket.

But in a very short time the girls were tired and the boys hungry. All
agreed to go back to the lunch. So back they hurried, the nuts rolling
about over the bottoms of the baskets. Julius had the most nuts; he
had eleven. Mat had the smallest number; she had one.

[Illustration: "'I BELIEVE SHE'S GONE DRY,' SAID KIT."]

"I hope you girls brought along lots of goodies," said Dick. "Seems to
me I never was so hungry in my life."

"I believe boys are always hungry," said Sarah Ketchum.

Val Duke was leading the party. He got along faster than the others,
because he wasn't turning around every minute to say something. He
made an electrifying announcement:

"A cow's in the basket!"

"Gee-whiz!" said Dick, rushing at the cow. "Thunder!" said Julius, and
he gathered a handful of dried leaves and hurled them at the beast.
Kit said "Ruination!" and threw his cap. Clara said "Begone!" and
flapped her handkerchief in a scaring way. Sarah Ketchum said, "Shew!
Scat!" and pitched a small tree-top. It hit Dick and Valentine.
Constance said "Wretch!" and didn't throw anything. Mat didn't say
anything and threw her hickory-nut. Val threw his basket, and hung
it on the cow's horn. She shook it off walked away a few yards, then
turned and stared at the party.

"Lunch is gone, every smitch of it!" said Kit.

"Hope it'll kill her dead!" said Sarah Ketchum.

"We'd better have left it in the wagon. Bob couldn't have eaten it
all," said Clara.

"I wish Jule had taken it along," said Dick.

"I wish Dick had taken it along," said Julius.

"But what're we going to do?" said Constance.

"We might buy something if anybody lived about here."

"There isn't any money."

"Dick might give his note, with the rest of us as indorsers," said
Julius.

"We might play tramps and beg something."

"But nobody lives around here."

"Hurrah!" said Dick, who had be