* * * * *

The day at last came for their return to the city and to the work they
were so much better able to do. The little, green-painted house was in
spotless order to leave behind. As Mrs. Camp was to come the following
day, they had filled the little pantry with food--not remarkably light
cake or bread, not especially flaky piecrust, but everything flavored
with sympathy and gratitude and good will.

"Go on, all of you; I'll catch up," Billy said, as they stood on the
steps with the door locked behind them. "When you get out of sight I'm
going to kiss the house good-by!"

"T.O. had better stay behind with you, to kiss the pump!" Loraine said.
"Or we'll all stay--I guess we can all find something to kiss."

"Did anybody think to take down the Wicked Compact?" demanded Laura Ann
suddenly. "It would be awful to leave that behind."

They were at the gate. T.O. stopped suddenly, pointing. What they saw
was a tiny, tiny mound, rounded symmetrically. "There it lies--I buried
it," T.O. said briefly, but added, "And let no one keep its grave
green!" They looked at her a little curiously. Perhaps they were
thinking that it might have been appropriate for her to take it home
with her and hang it on the wall to keep her company in the lonely
little B-Hive. But they only laughed and tramped on cheerfully to the
station. They were a little late, and had to run the last of the way.
The train was already in, and they scrambled aboard.

"Well, here we are leaving Eldorado!" sighed breathlessly Loraine.