zel came out, leading Margery, who had both
hands pressed to her head.

"Something fell on her head," explained Hazel.

Miss Elting took Margery to the fire and made her sit down. Margery
had no need to be urged. She sat down, all in a heap, and would have
toppled over had not the guardian held her up. A lump as large as a
horse chestnut had risen on the stout girl's head.

"Oh, my dear! You did get a bump, didn't you?" cried the guardian.
"Sit right where you are. I will bring some liniment. Fortunately,
the skin is not broken. Mr. Grubb, won't you please see what you can
do with the tent? I fear it is seriously damaged."

"I want to look at those halters, first, if you can wait a minute."

Miss Elting nodded, then hurried to the collapsed tent, under which she
burrowed and groped about in the dark in search of her medicine kit,
which she finally found and brought to the fireside. Margery's swollen
head was treated until the soreness had become eased a little. Harriet
and Jane supported her to a blanket that they had brought from the
tent, and, after tucking her in, left the unfortunate Margery to doze
and rest. Tommy crept over and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm tho thorry, Buthter," she whispered sympathetically. "I withh it
might have been me who got the bump on the head. But never mind; you
will be better pretty thoon. Don't you think tho?"

Margery's answer was a moan. Tommy crept away with a troubled look in
her eyes.

"The horses broke their halters," Janus was saying as Tommy joined her
companions. "Can't understand what skeered them into doing that. Jim
must be having a chase, or he'd have been back before this. Want to
quit?"

"Certainly not," answered Miss Elting with emphasis. "But we should
like to know what it means."

"Might have been a bird or something. Doesn't take much to startle a
horse when he's asleep. I've known a partridge to fly up before a
sleeping horse and cause the animal to break away and rip things up
generally. You'll find, if you find at all, that it was something like
this skeered Jim's nags."

"I gueth it wath a two-legged bird," observe Tommy wisely.

"That would be strange, indeed," answered Miss Elting. "How many legs
do birds ordinarily have?"

Tommy flushed.

"That ith tho. I wath thinking a bird had four legs, jutht like a
table."

Margery groaned.

"Oh! Are you feeling badly again, dear?" called Miss Elting.

"Yes."

"What is