"There, there, Daisy," said Bill, "don't cry. I'll fix it. Miss
Fairfield, you're a brick! Your ideas, as I shall amend them, are
fine! Pennington, you stay here with the girls, and build the
biggest fire you can make. I'll investigate this domicile, and see
if the family are really the Seven Sleepers, or if they're surely
afraid to come downstairs, for fear we're burglars."
Patty flashed a glance of admiration at the big fellow, but she
only said:
"Go along, Little Billee; but hurry back and dry yourself before
you catch pneumonia."
Bill went off whistling, and Jack and Patty built a rousing fire.
The woodbox was ample and well filled, and the fireplace, a wide
one, and the crackling flames felt most grateful to the wet
refugees. Jack wanted to go after Farnsworth, but Daisy wouldn't
hear of it, so he stayed with the girls. Soon Big Bill returned,
smiling all over his good-natured face.
"Not a soul in the whole house!" he reported. "I've been all over
it, from attic to cellar. Everything in good order; beds made up,
and so forth. But no food in the larder, so I assume the family
has gone away for a time."
"Well, of all funny situations!" exclaimed Patty. Cheered by the
warmth, her face was smiling and dimpling, and her drying hair was
curling in soft tendrils all over her head.
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