the house over, and called her
in every room. She cannot have followed the children. I never knew her
to stay away before."

"Hasn't Sylvy seen her?"

"Not since early in the afternoon. She has looked all over the place."
And so she had, but Bubbles asleep on the roof did not hear her, and a
limb of the tree on that side hid her from view.

"There is no reason for her running off, is there?" asked Mr. Dallas.

"No, unless Dimple has threatened her with the orphan asylum once too
often. She has such a horror of it, but I told Dimple not to do so
again, and she is not apt to disobey."

They sat down to tea, and it was not till an hour later that Bubbles was
rescued. Mr. Dallas was walking about, smoking his cigar, when he heard
a doleful voice saying,

"Lordy, Lordy, I'm awful bad, just as well go to the orphan asylum. I'll
die hyah, plum sho'."

He listened, and walked a few steps further.

"Wisht I was a bird, I'd get up in that tree. Wisht I had a raven to
bring me my supper--s'pose I'll starve and die too."

"Bubbles, where are you?" called Mr. Dallas. He heard a scrambling
overhead, and a delighted reply.

"Hyah, sah, hyah I are."

He looked all around, but did not see her.

"Where are you?" he asked again.

"On de roof, sah."

"Well, why don't you get down?"

"Ain't no way, sah; done tucken de ladder away."

Mr. Dallas found the ladder and put it up, and Bubbles scrambled down.

"Have you been up there all this time?"

"Yas, sah," said Bubbles, scraping one foot with the bare toes of the
other.

"How came the ladder down?"

"Miss Dimple done did it."

"What for?"

Bubbles hung her head, and began scraping the other foot.

"What for?" again asked Mr. Dallas.

"I done stole," said Bubbles, solemnly.

"And she did it to punish you?"

"Yas, sah."

Mr. Dallas could not avoid smiling, but he said, "Go along into the
house, and tell Mrs. Dallas about it. By the way, didn't you see any one
looking for you?"

"No, sah. I was clean tuckered a waitin', and I went to sleep. 'Specs
they came then mebbe."

"Well, go along," he said, and Bubbles started for the house, while he
went to bring home the girls.

CHAPTER VI

The Tea-Party

When the carriage left the house Mrs. Hardy directed the driver to go
through one of the pleasant roads leading from the town.

"Which is your favorite drive, Dimple?" she asked.

"Oh, Pleasant Valley and Big Run," answered she. "Don't you think