Every one laughed, for Julie always was extravagant in her language.
“In boarding-houses the guests object every time it is served, but we have the great advantage over city boarders whose hash is made merely with chopped meat and eggs and milk! We have Nature’s appetizer to season our dish, so that it becomes nectar and ambrosia in this camp,” explained the Captain, smilingly.
The hash went the way of the cereal, and the girls looked anxiously in the pot to see if there could be a second helping.
“Oh, thanks to our lucky stars and Verny, she made a lot of it!” called Julie, waving a spoon at her comrades.
“But where is the toast? Verny—the toast is gone!” shouted Joan, gazing fearfully under the stones to see if it could have slipped from the oven-rock.
“Ha! that’s my secret! Eat the hash, girls, and I will tell you where the toast is.”
It needed no second invitation to finish all signs of hash, then Ruth demanded to know where the toast was hidden.
The Captain ran over to Ruth and touched the spot where the stomach is located. “You’ve had your share of toast and it is in there!” laughed Mrs. Vernon.
“We haven’t! We only had hash!” retorted Ruth, wonderingly.
“The hash was made of toast and other things. I only had about a spoonful of corned beef left from last night. But toast, when broken into bits, will taste so like meat that few people know the difference. That’s how I managed to cook a second helping.”