when lucy benson’s brother told her she couldn’t watch him and his chums race their toy, model airplanes, the little girl felt sad for a few moments. then her spirits rose as she said to herself determinedly:

“i don’t care! i’ve got just as good a right in mason’s meadow as teddy benson, dick kelly or joe denton. and i’m going there! i’ll take margie with me.”

a little later, while teddy and his chums were on their way to the deer mystery, lucy hurried into the yard of the kelly home. mrs. kelly saw her from a side window.

“is margie home, mrs. kelly?” asked lucy.

“i think she is, my dear. she was just going over to your house but i think she is still30 up in her room. you may go right upstairs.”

the benson and kelly families visited back and forth as if they were relatives more than friends. so lucy hurried into the house, calling:

“margie! where are you?”

“just getting ready to come over to your house, lucy. come on up. i’ll be ready as soon as i tie a new ribbon on my hair.”

lucy hurried into margie’s room. there was something in the haste and manner of lucy that caused margie to stop and ask:

“what’s the matter? has anything happened?”

“teddy wouldn’t let me come to watch him, joe and dick fly their planes,” lucy reported. “but i’m going anyhow. and if the planes won’t fly—and i don’t believe they will—we can have the laugh on them.”

“we, lucy?”

“sure. you’ll come with me, won’t you?”

“i guess so. where is it?”

“down in mason’s meadow. we haven’t31 anything to do so we might as well go there as any place else, don’t you think?”

“of course. won’t the boys be surprised?”

“well—maybe,” said lucy slowly. “i think teddy sort of suspects i’ll follow him. but i don’t care. i’ve got a right to.”

“of course we have,” agreed margie. “they can’t keep us out of mason’s meadow.”

so the two girls hurried toward the same field where, a little while before, teddy and his chums had started to fly their planes. on the way the girls decided to stop in the candy store kept by old mrs. traddle.

“i’ve got part of my allowance left,” said lucy. “i’ll treat you, margie.”

“oh, that’s lovely. next time i’ll treat you. but let’s save some of the candy for the boys.”

“what! give them candy after they wouldn’t let us come to see them fly their planes? i should say not!”

32 “oh, i don’t mean give them any candy,” explained margie with a laugh. “but we’ll save some to eat in the meadow after we get there. and when the boys see us eating candy—”

“oh, i see what you mean!” laughed lucy. “sure, we’ll do that. it will make them wish they’d invited us. what do you like best, jelly beans or gum drops?”

“i like both. but you get more jelly beans for a nickel than you do gum drops. gum drops are expensive.”

“we’ll get some of each,” decided lucy.

now it wasn’t as easy to buy candy at the store of old mrs. traddle as it might seem. for one thing mrs. traddle was very deaf but she never would admit it. she thought her hearing was fine. so the boys and girls, after finding out that if they asked for chocolate drops often were handed lollypops, had gotten into the habit of pointing out in the show case what candy they wanted.

but this time lucy, being in somewhat of33 a hurry, forgot, for the moment, that mrs. traddle was deaf. so, going into the store, lucy said:

“i want five cents worth of jelly beans and gum drops, mixed, please.”

“oh, yes, there is quite a breeze today,” said mrs. traddle, as she pulled her spectacles down off the top of her head to where they could sit on her nose and be in front of her eyes. “a very good breeze indeed. how many sticks did you say, my dear?”

“i didn’t say sticks,” spoke lucy. “i said i wanted my candy mixed, mrs. traddle. gum drops and jelly beans.”

“why, of course i have screens in here, lucy,” said mrs. traddle. “how else could i keep out the flies? screens? i should say so. flies are dreadful around a candy shop. now tell me what kind you want and i’ll wait on you. but please hurry. i have a cake in the oven.”

mrs. traddle glanced back toward the living rooms in the rear of her little candy34 shop. now margie thought she would try. so, raising her voice, she said:

“we want jelly beans and gum drops!”

“yes, it is pretty good weather for crops,” agreed mrs. traddle. “we could do with a mite more of rain, though. but, in general, as you say, crops are good. now did you want some candy?”

the two girls looked at each other helplessly. then lucy did what she should have done at first. she pointed to the glass dish of jelly beans and to the one containing gum drops. then she put her five-cent piece on the top of the show case and made a mixing motion with her hands.

“oh, of course! why didn’t you say so at first?” asked mrs. traddle, somewhat peevishly. “children come in here talking about fly screens and crops and don’t seem to know what they want. jelly beans and gum drops, of course. mix them up. certainly. your motion, lucy, reminds me i mixed up a cake35 and it’s in the oven now. i’ll have to hurry and take it out. here’s your candy.”

whether it was because she liked the two little girls or because she was in a hurry, mrs. traddle gave lucy a very generous five cents’ worth of candy and the two girls went out of the store rejoicing.

the girls ate part of the candy on their way to mason’s meadow. they saved some with which to make the boys envious. in a short time they were at the field. but they saw no signs of teddy, dick or joe.

“maybe they’ve been here and gone,” said margie.

“no, i don’t think so,” said lucy. “it takes quite a while to wind up those rubber band motors. maybe they’re over by the woods. come on!”

the girls hurried across the field and, in a short time, came to the place where joe and dick had left their airplanes to follow teddy into the gully.

36 “oh, look!” exclaimed margie. “here’s my brother’s plane!”

“then the other must be joe’s,” said lucy. “for it isn’t teddy’s.”

“how do you suppose the planes got here?” asked margie.

“why,” said lucy, considering, “i guess the boys flew them and the planes came down and the boys couldn’t find them. but we have. and we can take the planes home and won’t the boys be surprised?”

“i should say so!” exclaimed margie. “but where is teddy and his plane?”

“maybe his flew another way, and he and joe and dick are hunting for it,” suggested lucy. “anyhow, we have found two of the planes and we’ll take them home with us. when the boys are feeling sorry that they have lost them, we’ll give them back.”

“oh, what fun!” laughed margie.

the two girls each picked up one of the toy planes and were starting to walk back across the meadow when margie exclaimed:

37 “hark! did you hear that?”

“hear what?” lucy asked.

“that noise.”

“what sort of a noise?” asked lucy.

“a—a sort of a—a whoofing noise!” whispered margie. “it seemed to come from those bushes near the edge of the wood. listen! there it is again!”

lucy heard a noise and said:

“it was more like a cow snorting than a whoofing noise.”

“well, maybe it was a cow,” admitted margie. “anyhow it was a noise and—oh, look, lucy! it’s coming for us—that noise. oh, it’s a wild cow—or something. run! run!”

lucy gave one look and then, holding tightly to joe’s plane as margie was carrying dick’s, the two girls turned and ran as fast as they could crying:

“help! help!”