state of blue funk that those who are here must have charge for a
while. Anybody any suggestions?"

"Housing," answered Van Deventer promptly. "I suggest that we draft
a gang of men to haul all the upholstered settees and rugs that
are to be found to one floor, for the women to sleep on."

"M--m. Yes. That's a good idea. Anybody a better plan?"

No one spoke. They all still looked much too homesick to take any
great interest in anything, but they began to listen more or less
half-heartedly.

"I've been thinking about coal," said Arthur. "There's undoubtedly
a supply in the basement, but I wonder if it wouldn't be well to
cut the lights off most of the floors, only lighting up the ones
we're using."

"That might be a good idea later," Estelle said quietly, "but light
is cheering, somehow, and every one feels so blue that I wouldn't
do it to-night. To-morrow they'll begin to get up their resolution
again, and you can ask them to do things."

"If we're going to starve to death," one of the other men said
gloomily, "we might as well have plenty of light to do it by."

"We aren't going to starve to death," retorted Arthur sharply. "Just
before I came down I saw a great cloud of birds, greater than I
had ever seen before. When we get at those birds--"