send in lots of goodies, and we will go halves. Good-by.

"Jack"

Away went the basket, and in fifteen minutes it came back from
the cottage with nothing in it but the orange.

"Hullo! Is she mad?" asked Jack, as Frank brought the despatch for
him to examine.

But, at the first touch, the hollow peel opened, and out fell a letter,
two gum-drops, and an owl made of a peanut, with round eyes
drawn at the end where the stem formed a funny beak. Two bits of
straw were the legs, and the face looked so like Dr. Whiting that
both boys laughed at the sight.

"That's so like Jill; she'd make fun if she was half dead. Let's see
what she says;" and Jack read the little note, which showed a sad
neglect of the spelling-book:--

"Dear Jacky,--I can't stir and it's horrid. The telly graf is very nice
and we will have fun with it. I never ate any _gorver_ jelly. The
orange was first rate. Send me a book to read. All about bears and
ships and crockydiles. The doctor was coming to see you, so I sent
him the quickest way. Molly Loo says it is dreadful lonesome at
school without us. Yours truly,

"Jill"

Jack immediately despatched the book and a sample of guava