Two Little Women Part 34

"I don't say that; and I won't mention any name, even to you, but just you wait and see. They'll announce the prize winner at six o'clock and it's after five now."

So Dolly deferred to Dotty's wishes in the matter, and as there was much going on and plenty of diverting incidents, the hour slipped away and soon a whisper was pa.s.sed around that the committee had made their choice.

Mrs. Van Zandt, the aristocratic and somewhat eccentric old lady who had offered the prize, came over to the cake table and smiled as she began her speech.

"It has been rather difficult," she said; "to decide among the beautiful and delicious cakes selected by the committee, for my final test. There were half a dozen at the last judging, that seemed equally well made and delightful of taste. Of course, I did not know who made the various entries, and so I decided, entirely on the merits of the cake itself.

And considering everything, the method, the execution and the delicacy of flavours, I adjudge the best cake submitted in this contest to be the one that represents the joint work of Miss Dorothy Rose and Miss Dorinda Fayre. And I'm greatly pleased to present these two young ladies with the golden double eagle I offered as a prize, and I consider it well earned and honestly won."

If Dolly and Dotty had been amazed when they missed the cake from the pantry window, they were ten times more amazed now. What could it mean?

There must be some mistake. Dotty's quick thought was that somehow their names had been connected with some other girl's cake, but in a moment that illusion was dispelled by the sight of their own beautiful white cake being brought in and placed in the very centre of the cake table.

It was positively their own cake, although a portion had been cut from one corner for the members of the committee to taste.

Realising that by some miracle their cake had been submitted, and had won the prize, Dolly and Dotty suddenly became aware that they must do their part, and together they stepped forward to receive the prize from Mrs. Van Zandt.

"I'm sorry it is not in two ten dollar gold pieces," she said, as she smilingly held it out to the blushing girls; "but you must divide it between you."

Smiling, Dolly and Dotty held out their hands together, and together received the gold piece, holding it between them as they bowed their thanks.

Then there was a hubbub of congratulations and laughter and chatter from the girls. It seemed unnecessary to say anything about the cake having been stolen, so the two D's smiled and beamed as they listened to flattering words about their prize winning cake.

Soon they were flying homeward to tell the family all about it.

"Our cake was there, and we took the prize!" cried Dotty, as they rushed into the living-room of the Rose bungalow.

"How did it get there?" cried Mrs. Rose, and Mr. Rose and Genie exclaimed in surprise, while Maria appeared in the kitchen doorway, holding up her hands and crying out: "Dem sperrits jes' nach.e.l.ley wafted dat cake right ober to de fair place!"

"We don't know," Dolly went on, taking up the tale. "I asked two or three ladies of the committee, and they didn't seem to know anything about it--about how it got there. They just said it was there, entered in our names, and it sounded so silly to ask them to find out who brought it, that I just didn't."

"It _was_ our cake," declared Dotty; "and it took the prize. So that's all right. But, however did it get there, unless it walked over itself.

You didn't take it, did you, Daddy?"

"No," said Mr. Rose; "I did not. I would willingly have done so, but you girls insisted on taking it yourselves."

Just then the boys rushed in.

"Great sport!" cried Bob, flinging his cap and sweater on a chair; "Norris's boat is the swiftest thing ever!"

"You bet it is! Wow, but it was a great race!" And Bert Fayre waved his hands in enthusiasm; "h.e.l.lo, girls, did your d.i.n.ky white cake catch the gold piece? Did you bamboozle the judges into thinking it was fit to eat?"

"Yes, we did!" cried Dolly, her blue eyes sparkling with delight; "but, oh, Bert, what do you think! We don't know how the cake got there!"

"Got there? Why, Bob and I took it over. We knew you girls never could transport that masterpiece of modern architecture all that way in safety."

"You boys took it over?" and Dotty looked dumfounded.

"Sure we did," said Bob; "weren't you glad?"

"But why didn't you tell us? we almost went crazy!"

"Crazy nothing! We left a note on the pantry shelf saying we took it. We called to you girls but you were primping in your room and didn't answer. Maria wasn't on deck, so I just scribbled on a paper that we'd taken the cake and left the paper in its place."

Bob looked injured at the thought that their kindness was not appreciated.

"We didn't see any note," said Dolly; "where did you leave it?"

"Right on the pantry shelf, where we took the cake away from. You don't seem awful grateful, for what we thought would be a boon and a blessing to you. I can tell you we had to work pretty hard to get the old thing over there without a smooch on it, and I didn't dare put anything over it for fear it would stick to the icing."

While he was talking, Dotty had flown out to the pantry and returned with the bit of scribbled paper. "Here it is!" she cried; "it was on the floor under the shelf!"

"Must have blown off," said Bert, carelessly; "well, no harm done; cake got there all right. Took prize all right. Everybody happy."

"Yes, we are now," and Dolly grinned contentedly; "but we had a pretty miserable afternoon."

"Oh, pshaw, now," and Bob tweaked the black curls that cl.u.s.tered round her temple; "you must have known we took it, even without the note.

Where else _could_ it have gone to?"

"That's so," agreed Dotty; "and it's all right now. But next time you leave an important doc.u.ment for me, don't leave it in an open window on a breezy afternoon."

CHAPTER XVI

A WALK IN THE WOODS

"Only three days left of Camp Crosstrees," said Dolly, as the girls sat in the shack one summer afternoon. "I never knew two weeks to slip away so quickly."

"Don't you love it?" said Dotty, looking around at the various delights of camp life, the wooded hills and the distant mountains. "There's nothing like it, Doll; I wish we didn't ever have to go back to town."

"You'll have your visit with me, before we go back to Berwick. I wonder if you will like Surfwood, Dotty?"

"I'll love the seash.o.r.e, I know; but I don't know about liking the big hotel. Don't you have to keep dressed up all the time and all that?"

"Why, we don't wear party clothes all the time. Of course we can't go around in an old serge skirt and middy blouse as we do here. But mornings we'll wear ginghams or linen frocks and late in the afternoon dress up nice."

"Awful bother, fixing up so. I like to go round as we do here. n.o.body cares what they wear in camp."

"Of course it's awfully different at the hotel, but you'll like it after you get there. I don't see why you object to dressing decently. It's only a habit, going around in these old regimentals!"

Dolly looked with distaste at her brown serge skirt, and her tan stockings and shoes, the latter decidedly the worse for wear and scarred and scratched by stones and brambles.

"Oh, I've got plenty of good clothes; Mother's been fixing them all in order. And I know I'll like it to be down there two weeks with you. But I mean for a whole summer, I'd rather be up here, tramping around the woods and dressing like Sam Scratch, than to fuss up fancy every day."

"I wouldn't. I've had an awful good time up here on this visit, but for a whole summer, I'd rather be at the seash.o.r.e, and at a hotel where I wear pretty white dresses and silk stockings and slippers."

"Aren't we different!" and Dotty laughed as she looked at her golden haired friend. "Sometimes I wonder, Doll, that we're such good friends, when we're so awfully different. Everything I like you hate and everything you like I hate."