"What a nuisance!" said May. "Ward must have taken it without our hearing him. I wonder where he is?"
"We shall have to call," said Ella; "perhaps he hasn't gone very far."
None of the three noticed Patty, who was hidden by the rhododendron, though by peeping through the leaves she was able to see them perfectly well.
"Coo—e—e!" cried Doris, as loudly as she could.
"Cuckoo!" shouted May, hoping some passing companion might be within earshot.
"What are we to do?" said Ella, when their calls had been repeated several times without rousing the faintest reply.
It was rather a lonely part of the garden; most of the girls had run from the hockey field straight into the house, and the gardener was at that moment partaking of tea in the kitchen. Patty, who had counted on all these points, remained quietly under cover, and suppressed her laughter as best she could.
"I don't know; we can't possibly jump it," said May, peeping over the edge to judge the distance between herself and the ground, and drawing back with a shudder.
"We shall have to wait till Ward comes back," said Doris.
"Suppose he's put the ladder away, and doesn't intend to come back?" suggested Ella.