"Hiss-s-s-s!" chimed in Miss Royle, her bandaged head rising and lowering in assent. "He'll cut out your appendix."

One moment she hesitated, feeling the old fear drive the blood from her cheeks--to her wildly beating heart. Then she saw Puffy sway, half fainting. And obeying the command of the little old gentleman, she grasped her gingham dress at either side--held it out to its fullest width--and with the wind pouching the little skirt, left the high grass, passed up through the lights of the nearby trees--and rose into the higher air!

She gave a glance down as she went. How excitedly Jane was circling! How Miss Royle was lashing the ground!

But the faces of the other three were smiling encouragement. And she flew for her very life. Lightly she went--as if there were nothing to her but her little gingham dress; as if that empty dress, having tugged at some swagging clothes-line until it was free, were now being wafted across the roofs, the tree-tops, the smooth windings of a road, to--

A bake-shop, without doubt! For her nostrils caught the good smell of fresh bread. Suddenly the shop loomed ahead of her. She alighted to have a look at it.

It was a round, high, stone building, with stone steps leading up to it from every side, and columns ranged in a circle at the top of the steps.

Seated on the bottom step, engrossed in some task, was a man.

As Gwendolyn looked at him she told herself that the Man-Who-Makes-Faces had given this customer such a nice face; the eyes, in particular, were kind.

He had a large pan of bread-dough beside him. Out of it, now, he gouged a spoonful, which he began to roll between his palms. And as he rolled the dough, it became rounder and rounder, until it was ball-like. It turned browner and browner, too, precisely as if it were baking in his hands! When he was finished with it, he piled it to one side, atop other brown pellets.

She advanced to speak. "Please," she began, pointing a small finger, "what is this place?"

He glanced up. "This, little girl, is the Pillery."

The Pillery! Instantly she knew what he was making--_bread-pills_.

And the bread-pills helped her to recognize him. She dimpled cordially.

"I haven't seen you since I had the colic," she said, nodding, "but I know you. You're the Doctor!"

The Doctor was most cordial, shaking her hand gently; after which, naturally enough, he felt her pulse.

"But there's nothing the matter with _me_," she protested. "It's my dear Puffy. _You_ remember."

Now he rose solemnly, selected a fresh-baked pill, bowed to the right, again to the left, last of all, to her--and presented the pill.

"In that case, Miss Gwendolyn," he said, smiling down, "a toast!"

And--quite in contrast to the evening of her seventh birthday anniversary--toast there _was_, deliciously crisp and crunchy!

"Oo! How good!" she exclaimed, not nibbling conventionally, but taking big bites. "'Cause I hate cake!"

The next moment she became aware of the munching of others. And on looking round, found that she was back at the Den. She was not surprised. Things had a way of coming to pass in a pleasantly instantaneous fashion. And she was glad to see the little old gentleman, the Piper and the Policeman each fairly gobbling up a pellet. Miss Royle was eating, too, and Jane was stuffing _both_ mouths.

But Puffy was having quite different fare. In front of him stood the Doctor, busily feeding filmy white bits into the tear just under a fore-leg.

"I think you'll find," assured the latter, "that a proper amount of cotton-batting is most refreshing."

"Once I wanted Jane to take me to the Doll Hospital," complained Puffy, his shoe-button eyes hard with resentment; "but she said I was only a little beast."

Gwendolyn looked severe. "Jane, you'll be sorry for that," she scolded.

"Ah-_ha!_ my dear!" said the Man-Who-Makes-Faces, addressing the nurse, "at last one of your chickens is coming home to roost!"

Gwendolyn glanced up. And, sure enough, a chicken _was_ going past--a small blue hen, who looked exceedingly fagged. (This was an occurrence worth noting. How often had she heard the selfsame remark--and never seen as much as a feather!)

Jane also saw the blue hen. And appeared much disconcerted. "I think I'll take forty winks," she hummed; "--twenty for the front face, and twenty for the back." Whereupon she made a few quick revolutions, landing up against the granite base of the obelisk.

The Doctor had been sewing up the tear in Puffy's coat. Now he finished his seam and knotted the thread. "There!" said he, cheerily. "You're as good as new!"

"Thank you," said Puffy. "And I feel so grateful to you, Miss Gwendolyn, that I must repay your kindness. You've always heard a certain statement about Jane, yonder. Well, I'm going to prove that it's _true_."

"What's true?" asked Gwendolyn, puzzled.

He made no answer. But after a short whispered conference with the Policeman, turned his back and began sniffing and snarling under his breath, while a fore-paw was busy in the region of his third rib. When he faced round again, the shoe-button eyes were shining triumphantly, and he was holding both fore-paws together tightly.

"I found one!" he cried. And wabbling over to Jane, stationed himself on one side of her, at the same time motioning the Officer to steal round to the other side on quiet hands.

And now Gwendolyn saw that Jane, though she was only feigning sleep, was ignorant of what was happening. For her double equipment of faces had its disadvantages. Even when upright she had not been able to roll one eye forward while its mate was on guard in the rear. And reclining flat upon her back, she could not rumble her eyes forward to her front face for the reason that they would not roll up-hill. Both stayed in the back of her head, where they could see only the ground.

Very cautiously Puffy put his fore-paws to Jane's ear--suddenly separated them--and waited.

A moment. Then, "Well, finding _this_ out, you can wager I don't stay heels over head no more!" cried the Policeman. And with a wriggle and a twist and a bound, he gave a half somersault and stood on his feet!

At once, the bottoms of his trouser-legs came down over his shoes, his coat-tails fell about him properly, uncovering his shield and his belt, and his club took its place at his right side. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. And began to scratch hard at the spot just between his shoulder-blades. At the same time, the tears that were in his cap flowed out and down his face. So that he seemed to be weeping.

The Doctor, leaning close beside Gwendolyn, was all sympathy. "There is no reason to feel bad," he said kindly. "The operation was successful."

"Feel bad!" repeated the Policeman. "Why, I'm _laughing_. Ha! Ha! We put a flea in her ear!"

At that, Jane began to laugh "Oh, laws!" she exclaimed, sleeve to mouth once more. "Oh, I never heard the like of it!"

"_Rar!_" growled Puffy, delighted. "The plan is working! See her growl!"

"That flea went in one ear and came out the other," declared the little old gentleman, poking Jane with the toe of a worn shoe.

Jane laughed the harder. "Oh, it's awful funny!" she cried, rocking herself to and fro--and steadily increasing her girth. "Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"We've proved that you're empty-headed," said Puffy.

And now the nurse was seized by a very paroxysm of mirth. Both faces distorted, she whopped over and over.

"That's right! Split your sides alaughin'," cried the Piper.

At these words, sudden terror showed on her face. For the first time she saw the trap into which she had been led!

Yet she could not check her laughter. "Oh, ho!" she gasped hysterically; "_oh!_--"

It was her last. Black sateen could stand no more.

She gave a final and feeble rock. Both revolving faces paled. Then there sounded a loud _pop_--like the bursting of an automobile tire. Next, a ripping--

"Look!" cried Gwendolyn.