A WONDERFUL TONIC


Vera awoke long before daylight, and lay thinking.

"That's just the way I do things," she said in a voice barely above a
whisper.

"I plan the fun, and always have a good time, that is '_most_' always,
but it's sure to wind up in a scrape. I plan how to get into mischief.
Why don't I ever plan how to get out?"

Elf stirred uneasily, and Vera gave her shoulder a vigorous shake.

"Wake up!" she commanded. "Wake up, and help me plan what we'd better
say when we have to face Mrs. Marvin."

"Oh, I'm sleepy," drawled Elf. "We're smart enough to say something when
she stares at us over her spectacles. We'll say we--"

A wee snore finished the sentence, and Vera turned over with a lurch
that shook the bed.

She thought it very hard that she must lie awake and worry, while Elf
could sleep; in short, she wanted some one to worry with her.

"It's like the way I climb trees when we're away in the summer," she
muttered.

"It's fine climbing up, but I'm always afraid to climb down. If Bob is