under the table.” Jo Ann slipped quickly into her place at the table where the others were already seated.

Mrs. Blackwell laughed gaily. “You girls are as good as a tonic,” she declared a little later. “I haven’t laughed so much for months. I feel much stronger today, too. I think I’ll take a short walk later on when it gets cooler.”

Florence beamed as she leaned over and squeezed her mother’s hand. “I knew you’d get well up here. I’m going to write Daddy this very afternoon and tell him what a good patient you are and how much better you look already.”

“You can do that right after dinner,” put in Jo Ann. “I’m going to wash the dishes to make up for running away and leaving you and Peg to get dinner alone. I promise to be good after this.”

“You mean till next time,” laughed Florence.

“Well, of course, when there’s something important——” began Jo Ann.

“We understand, Jo,” smiled Mrs. Blackwell.

CHAPTER VI A MYSTERIOUS LIGHT

A MYSTERIOUS LIGHT

As soon as they had finished eating and the girls had stacked the dishes and carried them to the kitchen, Jo Ann turned to Florence. “Now get out of here, young lady. I told you I was going to wash the dishes. You go and write that letter to your father.”

She caught Florence by the shoulders and playfully pushed her out of the kitchen and across the yard.

“Peg, I might let you wipe the dishes if you’ll promise to be good,” she told her as she returned to the kitchen.

“That’s really quite considerate of you, my dear,” smilingly retorted Peggy. “I appreciate the honor very much.”

Gay chatter accompanied the rattle and clatter of dishes as the two girls made quick work of their dishwashing. As they worked, their conversation drifted back to the subject of the bear and the pigs.

“I can’t imagine living out in a wild, lonesome place like this and not owning a gun, can you, Peg?” asked Jo Ann. Without waiting for an answer she went on: “It’d be a shame to let that old bear come back and get the rest of those pigs when we have a gun and know how to shoot it. I’m going down there 

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