ut of
the storm. Nearly all the masks and pillow-cases were put on again, too,
so that the party broke up in laughing confusion. Nobody recognised his
neighbour or knew who he was bumping against as he hurried up to bid his
perplexed hostess good night.

With a great cracking of whips and creaking of wheels the spectral party
drove off, to the tune of "Good-night, ladies, we're going to leave you
now." Far down the road the chorus came floating back to the listeners
on the porch, "Merrily we roll along, roll along, roll along."

"Wasn't it funny?" yawned Lloyd, as she went sleepily up the stairs.
"But oh, I'm so tiahed. I believe if they had stayed much longah, I'd
have fallen ovah in a heap on the flo'."

All the lights were out down-stairs, and the girls were nearly
undressed, when they were surprised to hear one of the wagonettes coming
back. A frantic clang of the knocker on the front door brought them all
to the windows.

"Oh, Mrs. Sherman!" cried an agonised voice out of the darkness, that
they recognised as Mrs. Cassidy's, "are the twins here? Bethel and
Ethel? We can't find them anywhere. I was sure that I lifted them into
the wagonette myself, but every one was so disguised that I must have
mistaken somebody else's children for mine."

"They are not in either wagonette," added Rob Moore's voice. "We never
thought to count noses until we reached the Cassidy place, and then we
found they were missing."

Hastily slipping into a wrapper, Mrs. Sherman ran down-stairs with a
candle in her hand, and opened the front door. Plump little Mrs. Cassidy
was standing there, wringing her hands.

"Oh, _don't_ tell me that they are not here!" she cried. "Didn't you see
them when you were locking up the house after we left? Then I know
they're lost. They must have slipped away from the porch before the
storm came up, and were playing outside somewhere when we all ran inside
and shut the door. Oh, my babies!" she wailed. "If they were out in all
that awful storm it has killed them, I know. Oh, why did I do such a
foolish thing as to bring them? They were too little to come, I knew
that. But they begged so hard, and they looked so cute in those little
ruffled pillow-cases, that I hadn't the heart to refuse. Oh, what shall
I do?"

"They must be somewhere about the house," said Mrs. Sherman, with such
decision that Mrs. Cassidy was comforted, and began wiping her eyes.

"Come in, and help me search. Maybe they slipped up-