Miss Watkins, the school-teacher, was on the porch, and as we drew up Tish leaped out.
“Pterodactyl!” she said.
“Warm, but not hot,” said Miss Watkins.
“Plesiosaurus!”
“The end’s all right.”
“Ichthyosaurus!” said Tish triumphantly, and received the envelope. Aggie, however, who had not heard the password given at the Ostermaiers’, had listened to this strange conversation dazedly and now burst into tears.
“There’sh something wrong with me, Lizzie!” she wailed. “I’ve felt queer ever since we started, and now they are talking and it doesn’t sound like sensh to me.”
It was some time before I was able to quiet her, but Tish had already received the second password, or sentence, which was “Prevention is better than cure, ting-a-ling,” and was poring over the next clew.
“Always first in danger, always last to go,
Look inside the fire box and then you’ll know.”