d have seen her until
they were very close.

Helen had picked out a hollow stump in which to hide. It was deep enough
for her to get inside, and the bottom was covered with old leaves, so it
was soft and not very dirty. Helen had been given an old dress of
Flossie's to put on to play in, so she would not soil her own white one.

"I'm going to have a good place to hide," thought Helen, as she climbed
up on a pile of stones outside the old stump and jumped down inside,
crouching there.

Then she waited for Freddie to come to find her, and as there was a
crack in the stump, she could look out and see where he was. As soon as
he got far enough away from "home," Flossie, who was nearer the oak
tree, would run in free,--and then she would try to reach it.

Meanwhile she crouched in the hollow stump, trying not to laugh or cough
or sneeze, for if she did that Freddie would hear and know where she
was. Helen saw something white in the stump with her. At first she
thought it was a piece of paper, but when she picked it up she knew it
was cloth. And as she looked at it her eyes grew big with wonder.

Without stopping to think that she was playing the hide-and-go-to-seek
game Helen suddenly stood up in the hollow stump, her head and waist
showing above the edge like a Jack-in-the-box. In her hand she held the
white thing she had found.

Flossie, from her hiding place between the two logs, could look over and
see what Helen was doing. Seeing her standing up in plain sight Flossie,
in a loud whisper, called to her friend:

"Get down! Get down! Freddie will see you and then you'll be it! Get
down!"

"But look! Look at what I found! In the hollow stump!" answered Helen.
"Oh, I must show you!"

"No! Get down!" cried Flossie, pulling more leaves over herself. "Here
comes Freddie. He'll see you!"

The little boy was coming from the "home" tree. He caught sight of
Helen, and cried:

"Tit-tat, Helen! Tit-tat, Helen! I see her in the hollow stump!"

"I don't care if I am it," Helen answered. "Look what I found!"

"What is it?" asked Flossie, sitting up amid the leaves.

"It's the dress Mollie wore when the gypsy took her away!" exclaimed
Helen. "Oh, my doll must be somewhere on this island!" and holding the
white object high above her head she ran toward Flossie.

CHAPTER XVI

SNOOP IS MISSING

The children suddenly lost interest in the game of hide-and-go-to-seek.
Freddie thought no more of spying Flossie or H