in a short time
who should come but the Elderkins themselves, to spend the afternoon,
they said, with Ted and Kitty. Then there was a fright indeed. The
father walked down to the gate, and looked anxiously up the long winding
mountain road, as if that would do any good, and the mother followed
him, calling out,

"Oh, John! John! where _are_ our children?"

The uncle rode off in one direction, and the father quickly saddled a
horse and rode in another, to inquire at all the farm-houses if anything
had been seen of Ted and Kitty Curtis. And no one had seen them. All the
Elderkins had to say was that Ted and Kitty had told them there was a
nearer way to reach home than by following the dusty, roundabout road,
and they had run off through the woods to find it. The Elderkins chose
to follow the road, because they had on their new lawn dresses trimmed
with torchon, and "didn't want to get all scrambled up by the briers."

So while the uncle and the father and all the neighbors were hunting up
and down the forest, and the mother was staying in the house, with dear,
calm grandma and the little twin babies to keep her from going _quite_
crazy, I will tell you what Ted and Kitty were doing in the Big Woodsy.

After they had run on quite a way, the bushes and brambles began to be
so thick they were obliged to drop into a walk, and finally to climb and
crawl as best they might, for they never found the "nearer way," and the
ground was covered with fallen trees and rocks, while the briers caught
them sometimes as if they never meant to let go.

By-and-by the pleasant light of sunset began to fade away, and they sat
down to rest on a mossy log, and looked at each other very soberly.

"I don't know which way we ought to go," said Kitty.

"No more don't I," said Ted.

"Well, then, we must stay right where we are, 'stead of trying to go on.
'Cause, don't you know, lost people always go round and round and round
and never get anywhere, and just wear their shoes out, and get tired and
hungry, and nobody ever can find 'em. You ain't afraid, are you, Teddy?"

"No--o!" answered Ted, with scornful emphasis; "course not! Why, it's
only just camping out. We've always wanted to camp out, you know. An'
it's warm, an' there's but'nuts, an'--an'--maybe we'll find a pattridge
nest," and Ted looked around at the deepening shadows, and bravely
winked back the two tears that had gathered in his eyes.

"You know there isn't anything in these