Billie raised a cushion threateningly in the air.
"None of that! None of that!" she warned him. "We see through you, villain!"
"Say, she must think you're one of the Cherry Corners ghosts," broke in Teddy whimsically. "It's pretty hard on a fellow when you can see through him, Billie."
"But honest you couldn't," Ferd insisted, not to be defeated in this one last hope. "Really, I don't know enough about an egg to take the shell off when I fry it."
"Idiot," cried Billie, throwing the pillow at him in earnest. "Who ever heard of fried egg in the shell?"
"I did," cried Ferd, unabashed by the laughter and the scornful glances turned his way. "Ladies and gentlemen, you see before you to-night the man that invented it."
"Well, but nobody has answered my question," said Billie demurely, after the laughter had subsided. "Are the boys going to help cook or are they not?"
"I tell you what," said Chet desperately. "We'll cook if you will promise to eat it."
"Billie," cried Laura in alarm, "don't make any rash promises. They would probably put some awful thing into the food on purpose."
"Laura, that's some idea," cried Ferd, looking at her admiringly while Teddy and Chet chuckled. "Thanks. We never would have thought of that ourselves."