It was now high time to serve supper, and the committee on refreshments descended to the kitchen, only to find nothing at all that resembled freezers of ice-cream and boxes of cake and sandwiches.
They had not counted on the fact that everything would be received at the door by cook, but such had been the case, and she had declined to receive them in language more emphatic than that usually employed in polite society. That there was no party at that house she had vigorously maintained, and the driver had retreated in some perplexity, carrying along the goodies.
Loud were the exclamations of disappointment, as the hungry toys crowded around the dismayed and disheartened committee, and in the general confusion the twins crept noiselessly out from under the bed and slipped into the dark hall. They had learned by this time that to slide down the banisters is really the swiftest method of locomotion, and they quickly availed themselves of this speedy method and went skimming fleetly away to the lower regions.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Twins Abscond.
DELIGHTED with their new found shoot-the-chutes, the twins hastily climbed the stairs to try it again and yet again, finally rolling off the banisters and landing on the soft fur rug at the foot of the stairs, breathless and too tired to try even one more climb.