en with two heaping plates, and, at the sight
of them, the six little Bunkers said:

"Oh! Ah! Oh!"

There were six "Ohs" and six "Ahs!" as you can imagine; one for each boy
and girl.

"Is this thunder-and-lightning cake?" asked Russ.

"That's what it is," answered Norah. "It's the first time I've made it in
a long while. I hope you'll like it."

"Sure they can't help it if you made it!" chuckled Jerry, who was
exceedingly fond of Norah.

"Go 'long with you!" she told him, laughing.

"It does look just like thunder, it's so dark!" said Russ, biting into a
slice of the cake.

"And where's the lightning?" asked Rose.

"That's the pink part," answered the cook. "You see I take some
chocolate-cake dough, and mix it up with white-cake dough, and then I put
in some dough that I've colored pink, and mix that through in lines and
streaks, and that's the lightning," explained Norah.

And when the cake had been baked in this way, and cut, each slice showed a
white part, a dark brown part and a pink, jagged streak here and there,
as lightning is sometimes seen to streak through the dark clouds.

"Oh, it's awful good!" cried Laddie, as he took a second slice to eat with
the home-made ice cream.

"Will it make a noise like a fire-cracker?" asked Vi, who always had some
sort of question ready.

"It won't make a noise unless you drop it, darlin'," said Jerry with a
laugh. "Then it'll go 'thump!'"

"Don't you dare talk that way about my cake!" said Norah. "The idea of
sayin' it would make a noise if it fell."

"I was only joking" rejoined the former soldier. "The cake is so light,
Norah, that I'll have to tie strings to it to keep it from goin' up to the
sky like a balloon!"

"Go 'long with you!" laughed Norah, but she seemed pleased all the same.

"We're going to see balloons to-night at the fireworks," remarked Rose.
"Did you ever see any, Jerry?"

"Yes, we had 'em in the army."

"Did you ever go up in one?" asked Russ eagerly.

"Once," said the former soldier.

"Oh, tell us about it!" begged Laddie, and Jerry did, while the six little
Bunkers sat about him, finishing the last of their cream and cake.

Then Jerry had to go to get some gasolene for the automobile, as Mr.
Bunker kept a machine, as well as a horse and carriage, and the children
were left to themselves. They were thinking about the fireworks they were
to see in the evening, and talking about the fun they would have at
Grandma Bell's, when Russ