suddenly occurred to them to wonder where their host had been keeping
himself all this time.

"I wish we could get started," worried Mollie, looking out upon the
sodden landscape. The rain was apparently coming down just as hard as
ever. "I hate to leave the car all by itself out there. Somebody might
steal it."

"I wish I knew where that man was," said Grace nervously. "I never
trust strange men. He may set the house on fire for all we know."

The words were hardly out of her mouth when the door opened and the
topic of conversation himself entered, carrying a tray so big and
heaped so high with sandwiches that one could scarcely discover the
man behind it.

Betty and Amy ran to his assistance, and between them they got the
tray safely to the bench. In one delighted glance the girls saw that
not only sandwiches, but a steaming pot of coffee and the remains of
what had been a great, three-layer chocolate cake were on the tray.

At thought of the fussy little man taking all this time and trouble,
for it must have taken a good deal of work to make all that formidable
array of sandwiches-- the girls were sincerely touched and regarded
their host with a new interest.

"There, there," he was saying, regarding the heaped-up tray with
evident pleasure, "you must sit down and eat at once. You must be
nearly starved-- famished. I hope this will be enough."