firmly refused to permit it. Not knowing what the two children
were suffering from, she knew that it would be inadvisable for her
companions even to enter the cabin.

The girls found their way to the hayloft, after many bumps and falls
accompanied by smothered cries and loud protests from Emma, and after he
had tethered the horses and the mule just outside the barn, Washington
Washington was put to bed on the barn floor. Grace then returned to the
cabin.

The children were still delirious and Elfreda said that their
temperature seemed to be rising. She decided to give them a sponge bath.
This occupied some time, but it had the effect of reducing their
temperatures somewhat.

Julie watched every movement of the Overland nurses, following them
with eyes in which wonder was not unmixed with admiration, but Mrs.
Thompson seemed helpless to do or think, and sat regarding them with
expressionless eyes, now and then heaving a troubled sigh.

Along towards morning the children ceased their babbling and sank into
an uneasy sleep. The mother, soon after, dozed off in her chair.

"Julie, get some water and soap and help us clean this place. It's a
fright," declared Miss Briggs.

This Julie did, so far as getting the water was concerned, but she took
so little interest in scrubbing the floor that Grace and Elfreda were
obliged to take that task into their own hands. They were down on their
knees scrubbing away, when Mrs. Thompson awakened.

"What you-all doin'?" she demanded blinkingly.

"Cleaning house," replied Elfreda briefly.

"'Tain't no use. It'll git dirty ag'in. Ah reckon Jed won't like it,
neither."

"We don't care whether Jed likes it or not," retorted Grace. "Leave him
to us, Mrs. Thompson."

Early in the morning Grace and Elfreda went out to the barn to see how
it had fared with their friends. They were a "frowzy lot," as Miss
Briggs characterized their appearance. Their heads were full of hay,
their eyes were red, and their faces showed much loss of sleep.

"You folks go down to the brook and wash, and by the time you return we
shall have breakfast cooked for you," offered Elfreda.

The breakfast they cooked on Mrs. Thompson's stove, but in the
Overlanders' utensils. Nor would they permit any of the girls to come
into the house for the food. Handing the breakfast out to the eagerly
waiting hands of their companions, Grace and Miss Briggs soon followed
and joined the girls at breakfast in the open.

It