The meal was finished and they all took their places in the automobile again to finish the ride to Uncle Toby's place, about twenty miles farther on.
Once again Trouble, Ted and Janet sat in the rear seat, while their father and mother rode in front. And this time Trouble had no red balloon which he could blow up, making it burst with a noise like a punctured tire. The children talked among themselves, wondering over and over again what it could be that Uncle Toby wanted their father to come and take charge of.
"Maybe he's got a little boy or a girl from an orphan asylum, and he wants us to take it to live with us," suggested Janet.
"A boy would be all right," decided Ted, as he thought of this. "I could have fun with another fellow."
"And I'd like a girl," said Janet. "I always wished I had a sister."
"Maybe they're twins—a boy and a girl," Ted went on. "That would be fun!"
"What would be fun?" asked his mother from the front seat, where she had heard the talk of the children. She often asked a question like this, as it sometimes stopped a bit of mischief that, otherwise, might happen. "What fun are you talking about?" asked Mrs. Martin.
"Uncle Toby," answered Janet. "I thought maybe what he wanted daddy to take charge of was a little orphan girl."
"And I thought maybe it was a boy," added Ted.
"And then we both thought maybe it was twins—a boy and a girl, and we'd each have someone to play with," went on Janet.