“We called him a thief,” added Nancy sadly.
“I was the one who cut the cords,” at last Mary volunteered in a small voice.
How they pummeled her and laughed.
“And never told, you sly minx!” they cried.
But Billie meant some day to apologize openly to Peter Van Vechten.
CHAPTER X.—STEPTOE LODGE.
“King Borria Bungalee Boo,
Was a man-eating African swell,
His sigh was a hullaballoo,
His whisper a horrible yell—A
horrible, horrible yell!
“Four subjects and all of them male
To Borria doubled the knee,
They were once on a far larger scale,
But he’d eaten the balance, you see—Scale
and balance is punning, you see!
“Scale and balance is punning, you see!” roared the chorus.
Miss Campbell and the girls exchanged rather amazed glances.
They had drawn up in front of a long low rancho. It was quite dark, but from an inside court they could hear the tinkle of a banjo accompanying a deep baritone voice, with many other deep voices joining in the chorus. The singing went on: