much good as to get out some place where nobody could
hear, and yell and carry on at the top of my voice. And Malcolm said
that, just for once, supposing we'd pretend like we were ten years old,
instead of thirteen, and pitch in and have a good ripping, tearing old
game of Indian. It was away up the pike, where there was nothing in
sight but a few farmhouses, scattered along the road, and it didn't
seem as if it would make any difference, so we said we would."

"First thing I knew," broke in Joyce, "Robby Moore gave an outlandish
war-whoop right in my ear, that nearly deafened me, and grabbed me by my
hair, yelling he was going to tomahawk me. And I saw Eugenia go sailing
up the road as fast as her horse could carry her, with Keith after her,
swinging on to those two long black braids of hers. You see Lloyd had
the advantage of us with her short hair. They couldn't scalp her so
easily; but Malcolm chased after her like all possessed."

"Maybe you think it wasn't excitin'," said the Little Colonel. "I felt
like a real suah 'nuff Indian was aftah me, and I screeched bloody
murdah till you could have heard me almost to the old mill."

"I should say she did!" giggled Joyce. "The way Tarbaby got over the
ground was something to remember, and the way Lloyd yelled would have
made a wild coyote take to its heels. Just as we got in sight of the
toll-gate, we met one of those big three-story huckster-wagons, full of
chickens and ducks and things. You know how funny they always look, with
so many bills and legs and tails sticking through the slats. Well, the
horses shied as we went dashing up to them, and first thing we knew
they had backed that wagon into a ditch at the side of the road, and one
of the coops went off the top ke-bang! into the ditch."

"You never saw anything madder than that old huckster," interrupted
Eugenia. "He jumped down off the wagon, and came up to us with a big
whip in his hands, scolding, as cross as two sticks. But he couldn't
stay angry with those boys. They were so polite, and apologised, and
said if they had done anything wrong they wanted to make it right. They
offered to pay for the coop if it was broken, and got off their horses
to help him lift it on to the wagon again. But when they took hold of it
three chickens flopped out of the broken side, and went squawking across
the fields."

"It was _so_ funny!" laughed Lloyd. "There they went, legs stretching,
wings flapping, lickety split! It mad