d their way daintily to avoid the wet weeds and high grass.
The sky once more serene, receded in deep bays above the arches of
foliage. Every now and then a bird, startled by their coming, flew out
from the branches overhead, sending down showers of drops on their hair
and shoulders.

They found the sweeting tree and Chicken Little soon had an apron full.
It was too wet to linger and they had started back, when Chicken Little
stopped still and made a wry face. "Katy Halford, we haven't fed those
pigs!"

"No sir, we haven't!"

"Say, this would be an awful good time to do it--everything's so wet, we
could loosen one of the stones easy. And I guess they'll do the rest
fast enough."

"If we don't give 'em much to eat they'll want to get out worse."

The days since Alice's and Dick's coming had been so full they had found
no opportunity to carry out Jane's scheme for ridding themselves
gracefully of their burdensome boarders. Katy had explained the plan to
Gertie, who heartily endorsed it. She went back to the house after her
now, while Chicken Little began scouting to see if there were anyone
about. The coast seemed clear. Jim Bart had gone to look after the
pasture fences, and Marian told her that Ernest and Sherm had taken the
wheelbarrow and started to the south field after a load of watermelons.
"They'll be back in half an hour if you want them for anything, Jane."

Jane didn't want them for anything: she merely wanted them safely out of
the way.

She sped back to the house. "Hurry, girls, everybody's gone, and
Marian's putting Jilly to sleep in the bedroom on the other side of the
cottage, so she won't see us. I'll go get the milk and those pea pods
Annie saved."

Katy and Gertie undertook the feeding, while Chicken Little went to the
tool house for pick and spade. The log pig pen was merely one corner of
the big hog corral, fenced off for the benefit of the new litters to
protect them from the older hogs. Stones had been securely embedded
underneath the lowest rail to keep the pigs from burrowing out beneath.
Chicken Little went into the corral and inspected these, carefully
trying one or two with the pick.

"Here's one that isn't very big and it's loose at one corner. Let's try
it."

The stone had been put there to stay and did not yield readily. Jane dug
till she was tired, then Katy took a hand. Gertie had been posted as a
sentinel where she could watch the road.

They strained and tugged, but the st