a.

"And you evidently don't know just who is guilty," responded Chet.

"Moral certainty would not hold good in court," his sister returned,
slily.

"Bet you nothing comes of it!" growled Chet.

But Laura would not wager anything with him. Perhaps she was not very
certain in her own mind, at that, that she had gone about the matter in
the right way.

The night before the Big Day arrived, and nothing was heard of the
shell. The girls were hopeless. Even Bobby lost her last atom of
cheerfulness. They were confident that, if they had to row in the old
boat, Keyport, at least, would beat them in the race.

But when the new watchman opened the boat-House doors early on the
morning of the race day he found pinned to the door a paper which bore
in scraggly lettering this admonition:

"_Look under the east float._"

He proceeded to do this at once; and there was the shell, missing for so
many anxious days, somewhat scraped by being washed by the current
against the timbers underneath the float, but otherwise quite fit for
use!

All the girls of Central High did not hear this welcome news until noon,
when the schools of Centerport let out for the day. The afternoon was to
be given up to the aquatic contests, and troops of boys and girls, as
well as grown folks, went to the shore, or crowded the boats that were
stationed along the racing course.

After all the Lockwood twins did not have to give up the canoe contest.
Aunt Dora would not hear of their losing practise; and she was so much
improved that Mr. Lockwood hired an easy carriage and took her to the
races that she might see Dora and Dorothy do their best to win both the
canoeing and eight-oared trophies.

"They are real good girls, after all, Lemuel," said Aunt Dora,
reflectively. "Now both of them have offered to go home with me."

"No!" cried the flower lover. "I can't spare them, Dora."

"I know you can't," admitted his sister, rather mildly for her. "And
although they only said they would come to me for a little while, one at
a time, I am not going to accept their sacrifice. I see plainly how much
they are to each other--and to you. I guess they are yours, Lemuel, and
if you have made mistakes in bringing them up, they are too sweet of
disposition naturally to be spoiled by your foolishness.

"No," said Aunt Dora, conclusively, "the place for Dora is with Dorothy,
and the place for Dorothy is with Dora. Besides," she added, "it would
certainly trouble