or to her
cheeks. She put out her hand.

"Oh, yes," she said. "How do you do, Major Grover? I have heard a
great deal about you since the day of Babbie's picnic. I'm sure I
owe you an apology for the trouble my small daughter must have
caused that day."

She and the major shook hands. The latter expressed himself as
being very glad to meet Mrs. Armstrong. He looked as if he meant
it.

"And no apologies are due, not from your side at least," he
declared. "If it had not been for your little girl our missing
plan might have been missing yet."

Fifteen minutes elapsed before the owner of the windmill shop
returned. When he did come hurrying up the bluff and in at the
back door, heated and out of breath, no one seemed to have missed
him greatly. Major Grover, who might reasonably have been expected
to show some irritation at his long wait, appeared quite oblivious
of the fact that he had waited at all. He and Barbara were seated
side by side upon a packing case, while Ruth occupied the chair.
When Jed came panting in it was Babbie who greeted him.

"Oh, Uncle Jed!" she exclaimed, "you just ought to have been here.
Mr.--I mean Major Grover has been telling Mamma and me about going
up in a--in a diggible balloon. It was awf'ly interesting. Wasn't
it, Mamma?"

Her mother laughingly agreed that it was. Jed, whose hands were
full, deposited his burden upon another packing case. The said
burden consisted of no less than three motor car cranks. Grover
regarded them with surprise.

"Where in the world did you get those?" he demanded. "The last I
saw of you you were disappearing over that bank, apparently headed
out to sea. Do you dig those things up on the flats hereabouts,
like clams?"

Jed rubbed his chin. "Not's I know of," he replied. "I borrowed
these down at Joshua Rogers' garage."

"Rogers' garage?" repeated Grover. "That isn't near here, is it?"

"It is an eighth of a mile from here," declared Ruth. "And not
down by the beach, either. What do you mean, Jed?"

Jed was standing by the front window, peeping out. "Um-hm," he
said, musingly, "they're still there, the whole lot of 'em, waitin'
for you to come out, Major. . . . Hum . . . dear, dear! And
they're all doubled up now laughin' ahead of time. . . . Dear,
dear! this is a world of disappointment, sure enough."

"What ARE you talking about?" demanded Major Grover.

"JED!" exclaimed Ruth.

Barbara said nothing. She was accustom