"I d'no," said Florence carelessly.

But just at that moment Puppums accounted for himself. He came in from the direction of the half-open back door, in his mouth a neatly done up package.

"_Oh!_" cried Winona and Florence in one despairing voice, "he's been stealing again! Drop it, you little wretch!"

Mrs. Bryan went around to Puppums, who was proudly sitting up on his haunches over his spoils.

"It isn't ours," she said, opening the bundle.

"What is it?" asked Winona. "I might as well know the worst."

"Chops," answered Mrs. Bryan briefly. "Two pounds of very nice lamb chops, with nothing at all to tell where they belong!"

"Oh, Puppums!" said Winona and Florence together tragically. The rest were all laughing but to Puppums's family it was far from a laughing matter.

Puppums Merriam was a splendid watch-dog. He was sweet-tempered and intelligent and obedient and cheerful, and everything a family dog should be. But he had one fault. He would occasionally snoop around back porches in search of anything the butcher might have left. The fact that he got three good meals a day, and was losing his figure far too fast for such a young and sprightly dog did not matter to him at all. Neither did he mind the fact that he got a good whipping every time Tom caught him at it. Happy indeed was the week wherein the Merriams did not have to apologetically return roasts or steaks to furious owners; or-if the condition of the prey made it necessary-buy new ones. But this last did not happen very often, for Puppums rarely brought home the bills with him, and it is hard to trace anonymous meat.

So when he proudly presented his contribution to the feast there was nothing to do but to pick up the chops and put them away.

"I can't spoil the fun by whipping him, and he always thinks my whippings are fun anyway, and wags his tail!" mourned Winona. "And we'll never know whose chops they were!"

"They're Puppums's chops now," said Louise. "Go on, give 'em to him, Winnie. If you went out and gathered chops you wouldn't want to be scolded."

"Well, I suppose he may as well have them," said Winona still sadly. So, although it was very wrong, and as she explained to the dog, it didn't create a precedent, soon the collector of chops was happily crunching them outside the back door, while the Camp Fire Girls ate made-over meat within.

"What about our camping out?" Louise demanded, after the first pangs of appet.i.te were over. "What's the use of being us if we can't camp?"

"We _can_ camp," answered their Guardian as she helped Helen to some more salad. "This is lovely dressing, Adelaide. I didn't know what good cooks all of you were. I have been looking things up, and I don't see why we shouldn't go in a short time now, if all of your parents are willing and can spare you."

There was a great commotion over at the table where the Blue Birds sat, and then hurried whispers-

"You ask, Lucy."

"No, you ask, Frances!"

Finally Florence spoke up.

"Can't the Blue Birds go camping, too?"

"Why, of course they can!" said Mrs. Bryan cordially. "That is, just as with the Camp Fire Girls, if their mothers are willing."

"Oh, then I can go, if we take Frances," said Adelaide relievedly.

"Father and Lonny can get along all right by themselves, but Frances couldn't. Oh, I'm so glad!" Which was quite a good deal for reserved Adelaide to say.

"So are we glad," said Helen heartily.

"I wonder whether we couldn't go to that place up on the Wampoag River.

Have you thought of any place, Mrs. Bryan?"

"None but there or thereabouts," she said. "It's the best camping-place for a long distance, and only about twelve miles off."

"But won't the boys want to camp there, too?" asked Helen.

"There's plenty of room for everybody," said her step-mother. "I've been talking it over with Mr. Gedney, the Scoutmaster, and he says their camp will be about two and a half miles from the place I'd thought of our going. Wampoag River is very long, you know, and there must be five miles of woodland along both sides. So we needn't interfere with each other at all."

"Then that's all right," said everybody.

"And oh, let's hike there!" cried Louise. "We can do it in two days as easily as anything. Please, dear, nice, kind Guardian, let us hike there!"

"I think it would be a very good thing to do," approved Mrs. Bryan. "But it isn't for me to settle. You'll have to have a business meeting to decide that, and to decide another thing that n.o.body's thought of."

"Ways and means?" ventured Adelaide, perhaps because they had been in her mind, too.

"Exactly," said Mrs. Bryan. "We haven't enough in the treasury to pay expenses, even if we only stay a little while. It's for you all to decide whether you want to get the money from your parents for the provisions, or whether you will earn it."

"Earn it?" asked Winona, "How could we, in such a little while?"

"You'll have to work that out yourselves," replied Mrs. Bryan, as she usually did.

"Well, I can't ask dad for _much_ money," Louise frankly confessed.

"Times are hard, and me poor father needs his gold for the lit-tul ones at home!"

"Well, of course it's premature," hesitated Helen, looking up, "because the rest aren't here."

"Go on, anyway," said the others eagerly.

"Well, I don't see why we shouldn't have a bread and cake and preserve sale," she went on. "I'm treasurer, you know, and I'm sure we have enough money on hand for materials. People will buy things to eat when they won't buy anything else. I'm sure, too, that we could get Black's drug-store to sell in."

"We'd need more than one cake-sale, wouldn't we?" asked Winona.

"We could have two-or even four!" a.s.serted Louise boldly. "We needn't go for two weeks yet, anyway. It will only be the last of July then. We could have sales Wednesdays and Sat.u.r.days."

"And get orders beforehand, and make what people want!" said Louise, "Oh, I'd love to do that!"

"Will it cost much?" asked Adelaide.

"The sale?" said Louise.

"No, the trip."

"Not a good deal," said Mrs. Bryan. "We have the land free, of course.

We shall have to buy tents-let me see, there are twelve in the Camp Fire, aren't there? And there will be six or eight Blue Birds. We'll need ten tents, and then there'll be the provisions. What they cost will depend on how long you decide to stay. If you hike there and back there won't be any railroad fare. As for clothes, you'll need blouses and dark skirts or bloomers, and tennis shoes-but all that can wait till the business meeting. Marie is secretary-she and Edith and Dorothy and Anna Morris are going to be here getting luncheon to-morrow. There had better be a meeting here to-morrow afternoon. I'll telephone Marie after supper."

Eight very happy girls of a.s.sorted sizes cleared away the supper and washed the dishes and made the kitchen shine. Even Puppums, bulging with contraband chops, was more amiable than usual, and slept placidly in all the places where he was most in the way.

"I'm going to take my banjo," planned Louise.

"I shall take pounds and pounds of modelling clay," said Helen enthusiastically.