While he was gone the others scraped up the paste and collected the scattered rolls of paper, then went to the bunkhouse and waited Limber's return, unaware that almost half a sack of flour reposed in a corner of Fong's tin trunk, while a batch of bread was rising beautifully in the dishpan hidden beneath Fong's bed. Had any of the boys suspicioned the true facts there would have been a badly-frightened Chinaman in Arizona.
When Limber returned he was accompanied by Mrs. Burns in her buggy, while Peanut, Limber's pony, trotted at the back of the rig, hitched to the axle.
"You boys have certainly run into a bunch of trouble," she laughed as she nimbly climbed from the rig. "I told Limber that I might be able to help you, for I've done all my own papering, you know."
Limber extricated a sack that held flour, and joined the procession to the room they were now sure would be decorated with pink roses.
Mrs. Burns looked at the remnant of paste in the tub before she asked, "What on earth did you use?"
"Everything we could find," confessed Bronco humbly. "We did leave out eggs, sugar and pepper."
"All you need is flour, hot water and a little thin glue water," she laughed.
"Glue!" they echoed.
"I told you Larry said it was a short word," triumphed Bronco. "Why didn't some of you muttonheads think of glue?"
"You said he told you to make a thin biscuit dough, an thar ain't no glue in that," retorted Holy, but further argument was avoided as Mrs. Burns began issuing business-like orders.