The man came back with his friend and between the two of them they
managed to get the Striped Beetle shod anew. Gladys drove off to B----,
leaving Chapa and Medmangi and Pearl and Hinpoha on the porch with the
babies and taking Mrs. Martin with her. She had seen Mrs. Martin give a
wistful glance toward the big car and surmised rightly that she had few
chances to go automobile riding. They were back in less than an hour
saying that the doctor would be right along, and he appeared presently
in a dusty roadster with another man beside him, probably a friend.

I suppose everybody has been taught from childhood that virtue is its
own reward and one good turn deserves another. But once in awhile they
discover that the reward of virtue is just as apt to be trouble as not,
and that one good turn can unscrew the lid of a whole canful of
calamities. Thus it was that Gladys's generous offer to fetch the
doctor from B---- ended up in disaster for all five of us. For the
doctor examined the fretful baby and the heavy-eyed little girl and
announced that they both had scarlet fever.

Scarlet fever! The girls looked at each other in dismay. Not one of
them had had it. And they had all handled both the babies; Medmangi had
hung over the little boy most of the time.

"If we have ourselves disinfected," said Medmangi, as they moved
hastily toward the car, "there won't be much danger of our getting it.
Scarlet fever isn't really contagious in the first stages."

"Stay right where you are," said the doctor, in a tone of authority.
"No one must leave this house. You are all under quarantine."

"But we can't stay here," said Gladys. "We're touring and only stopped