Cut the bread very thin with a sharp knife. Remove all crusts. Place a damp cloth around the prepared slices when very moist, and tender. Spread with butter which has been creamed with a fork until soft. Roll the sandwiches up carefully like a roll of paper. Cut the ribbon into six-inch strips, and tie around the sandwiches. Place in a bread box to keep moist. Pile on a plate in log cabin fashion.
CHAPTER CXIX
ANOTHER OVEN DINNER
BETTINA heard a step on the porch, and quickly laying aside her kitchen apron, rushed to the door to meet Bob. Her rather hilarious greeting was checked just in time, at sight of a tall figure behind him.
"Bettina, this is Mr. MacGregor, of MacGregor & Hopkins, you know. Mr. MacGregor, my wife, Bettina. I've been trying to get you all afternoon to tell you I was bringing a guest to dinner and to spend the night. The storm seems to have affected the lines."
"Oh, it has! I've been alone all day! Haven't talked to a soul! Welcome, Mr. MacGregor, I planned Bob's particular kind of a dinner tonight, and it may not suit you at all, but I'm glad to see you, anyhow."
Mr. MacGregor murmured something dignified but indistinct, as Bob cried out heartily, "Well, it smells good, anyhow, so I guess you can take a chance; eh, MacGregor?"
Bettina had a hazy idea that Mr. MacGregor, of MacGregor & Hopkins, was somebody very important with whom Bob's firm did business, and although she knew also that Bob had know "Mac," as he called him, years before in a way that was slightly more personal, her manner was rather restrained as she ushered them into the dining-room a few minutes later. However, the little meal was so appetizing, and the guest seemed so frankly appreciative, that conversation soon flowed freely. Bob's frank comments were sometimes embarrassing, for instance when he said such things as this: