"Did some one go away and leave you?"

"Yes, my mother went off and left me, and left Jimmy and Belle, too,"
said the boy. "You wouldn't leave your little boy, would you?"

"No."

The boy looked eagerly at the box. Elnora lifted a sandwich and
uncovered the fried chicken. The boy gasped with delight.

"Say, I could eat the stuff in the glass and the other box and carry the
bread and the chicken to Jimmy and Belle," he offered.

Elnora silently uncovered the custard with preserved cherries on top and
handed it and the spoon to the child. Never did food disappear faster.
The salad went next, and a sandwich and half a chicken breast followed.

"I better leave the rest for Jimmy and Belle," he said, "they're 'ist
fightin' hungry."

Elnora gave him the remainder of the carefully prepared lunch. The boy
clutched it and ran with a sidewise hop like a wild thing. She covered
the dishes and cup, polished the spoon, replaced it, and closed the
case. She caught her breath in a tremulous laugh.

"If Aunt Margaret knew that, she'd never forgive me," she said. "It
seems as if secrecy is literally forced upon me, and I hate it. What
shall I do for lunch? I'll have to sell my arrows and keep enough money
for a restaurant sandwich."