Lilian, who had captured part of the spoons, blushed and dropped them on the floor.
"It's real mean of you to scare me so," she stammered. "Mother, did you know it was the boys?"
"Not until Jamie winked at me from the floor, and then it was all so ridiculously clear I could not help laughing aloud. I saw you were well over your first fright, so I thought I'd let the boys carry out their fun."
"My, but I'm hot!" ejaculated Ben. "Sis has good grit, hasn't she Harold?"
"Yes," cried Jack, "and she kept her promise about the rosebud china. Let's have dinner. All we lack now is the coffee, Lilian."
When the new cousin, and Uncle Abner's boys and the four teasing brothers were seated about the table, Lilian asked:
"Where did you get your toggery, Jack?"
"Oh, Uncle Abner's garret is full of all sorts of Indian traps. This morning when you were crying for callers—especially Indians—the thought struck us it would be lots of fun to give you your wish. We found Cousin Harold at Uncle Abner's, and he helped us out. He's been on a ranch for years. We knew you wouldn't recognize him. The rest of us kept in the background."
"If you hadn't been so scared, Lilian, you'd have known the ponies," said Jamie.
When they had nearly finished dinner, Lilian said: