For the Little Captain slipped back for a moment and very quietly closed
the door, shutting out definitely the shadow beyond it.

"I suppose it is foolish," she said to herself, "because if there is
anything out there that really wants to get in there are plenty of ways
that it can do it, without coming in through the door. But," and she
turned the key in the lock, "it certainly makes one feel more comfortable
to have the door closed." Then she followed the girls into the other room,
and the sight that met her eyes was certainly more cheering than anything
she could have imagined.

Mollie's Uncle John had surprised them. In the exact center of a table set
for five lay a young pig, roasted whole and browned to a turn! Nor was
this all. The table was littered with covered dishes of all sizes and
descriptions, and as the contents of each one of these dishes was
disclosed, the girls became more and more excited and hilarious.

There was apple sauce in one, salad in another, mashed potatoes that had
become quite cold in another, and a boat of gravy which had also become
quite cold.

"But we don't mind," cried Mollie joyfully, as she took the gravy-boat in
one hand, the dish of potatoes in the other, and ran with them over to a
great stove in one corner of the room. "We need only some matches to have
this blazing hot in a minute. No, not that way, Grace," as the latter
tried to help by lighting the burner. "This isn't a gas stove, you know;
it's an oil stove and you had better look out or you will blow us all up."

It is small wonder if Betty was so dazzled by this joyful scene that she