It is remarkable how boys always know when cake-baking is going on. They seem to scent it in the air. At first Aunt Sue tried to escape by springing baking day at odd times. But it was no use. One or other of them was sure to happen in, and then in some miraculous way the other boys would come trooping in like the Northern barbarians at a Roman harvest-time.
Then Aunt Sue tried a new plan. Wednesdays and Saturdays were announced as regular baking days, and each boy was to be entitled on the spot to one cake out of every pan of ginger-snaps or other small cakes that were baked. Four cakes to a panful was no light tax to levy, but the boys were rigorously exacting, and woe to the boy who failed to be present; His cake was confiscated, immediately, and gobbled up by the reigning powers, after the manner of the partition of Poland.
When a soft cake was to be cut at table it was an understood thing that those rapacious boys should have the "corner pieces." The only wonder was that no amount of cake ever seemed to make these boys sick. The fact was so amazing that Aunt Sue pronounced it "just miraculous."
It so happened that during the spring, just about house-cleaning time, the boys had been two weeks without cake. They had been out one day playing base-ball, and were coming home to supper cold and hungry. They discussed the afternoon's fun until there seemed nothing more to say about it, and after a little silence one of them revealed the subject of his thoughts by the grumbling remark:
"I hope Aunt Sue will manage to have some cake for supper. It is an age since we had any."
"She is getting awfully stingy with it, anyhow," said Bob. "The piece I had last night was hardly big enough to taste."
"I never get more than a taste except at Christmas," said John.
"See here, boys," cried Tom Fleming, "I have thought of something. Let's have a party, and bake the cake ourselves."
This brilliant idea was so new as to be somewhat startling; but after the first shock was over, most of them entered into the plan eagerly.
The older boys were dubious. "How can we? Aunt Sue would never consent, and your mother never lets us come near the kitchen."