"Julie, get some water and soap and help us clean this place. It's a fright," declared Miss Briggs.
This Julie did, so far as getting the water was concerned, but she took so little interest in scrubbing the floor that Grace and Elfreda were obliged to take that task into their own hands. They were down on their knees scrubbing away, when Mrs. Thompson awakened.
"What you-all doin'?" she demanded blinkingly.
"Cleaning house," replied Elfreda briefly.
"'Tain't no use. It'll git dirty ag'in. Ah reckon Jed won't like it, neither."
"We don't care whether Jed likes it or not," retorted Grace. "Leave him to us, Mrs. Thompson."
Early in the morning Grace and Elfreda went out to the barn to see how it had fared with their friends. They were a "frowzy lot," as Miss Briggs characterized their appearance. Their heads were full of hay, their eyes were red, and their faces showed much loss of sleep.
"You folks go down to the brook and wash, and by the time you return we shall have breakfast cooked for you," offered Elfreda.
The breakfast they cooked on Mrs. Thompson's stove, but in the Overlanders' utensils. Nor would they permit any of the girls to come into the house for the food. Handing the breakfast out to the eagerly waiting hands of their companions, Grace and Miss Briggs soon followed and joined the girls at breakfast in the open.
It was not a particularly enjoyable meal. Not once during the breakfast had one mentioned Hippy Wingate and his mission, and it was not until they had finished and sat back that Nora broached the subject.