Two Little Women

by Carolyn Wells

  CHAPTER XV

  WHO WON THE PRIZE?

  "We'd better take our sweaters," said Dolly, as she handed the twowhite, fleecy garments to Dotty. "You carry them, Dot, and I'll carrythe cake; you'd be sure to drop it."

  Dotty took the two sweaters and flung them over her arm, well knowingthe precious cake would be safer in Dolly's steady hand.

  "Now we're all ready," Dolly said, as she tucked a handkerchief into hersash folds. "Wait for me here, Dot, and I'll get the cake."

  Dolly went to the kitchen and on through to the pantry, where she hadleft the cake on a shelf by the window. But it was not there.

  "Maria," she called, wondering what the old darky had done with it.

  There was no reply and Dolly called again louder.

  "Yas'm, I'se comin'," and the old cook came in at the back door of thekitchen. "What yo' want, honey? I spec' I jes' done drapped asleep fera minute, settin' out dere in de sun. What is it, honey chile?"

  "Where's the cake, Maria?"

  "On de pantry shelf, whar yo' done left it. I ain't teched it, dat Iain't."

  "But it isn't there. You must have put it someplace else."

  "No, Miss Dolly, I nebber laid a hand on dat cake. I know jes' howchoice you was of it, an' I lef it jes' whar yo' put it."

  "But it isn't there, and who would disturb it?"

  "Tain't dar! Land o' goodness! Den whar is it?" Maria's black eyesrolled in dismay. "Somebody's done stole it!"

  "Stole it? Nonsense! Nobody would do that. Dot--_ty_!" and Dolly's loudcall brought Dotty flying.

  Mrs. Rose followed, and both stood aghast with consternation when Dollyannounced, "The cake is gone!"

  "Gone! What do you mean?" and Dotty looked around the shelves in a dazedsort of way.

  "I mean what I say," cried Dolly impatiently. "Our cake is gone, and, asMaria says, somebody must have stolen it."

  "Stolen it! Our cake!" and Dotty gave a wild shriek.

  "It can't be stolen," said Mrs. Rose, looking puzzled; "we've never hadanything stolen all the years we've been here."

  "Then where is it?" demanded Dolly. "Where can it be?"

  "Didn't you take it into the dining-room?" suggested Mrs. Rose, unableto think of any other solution of the mystery.

  "No, indeed; I left it right here till we were ready to start. I had itin the open window, because the kitchen was so hot, and of course sometramp has come along and stolen it. Oh, Dotty, what shall we do?"

  But Dotty was beyond speech. Her staring eyes gazed at the table wherethe cake had been. Vaguely she glanced round the pantry shelves, andthen flew through the kitchen to the dining-room and looked all aroundthere. But of course she saw no cake, for Dolly had left it in thepantry.

  "Where are the boys?" asked Dolly, suddenly.

  "Gone to a motor boat race," said Mrs. Rose. "They went off half an hourago. But they wouldn't steal your cake."

  "They might do it for a joke," said Dolly.

  "No," said Mrs. Rose, decidedly; "they wouldn't do that. They were toointerested in the success of you girls, and they felt about that cakejust as we all did. No, Bob and Bert never stole the cake! Where'sGenie?"

  "Upstairs, I think," said Dotty, and going to the foot of the staircaseshe called her sister.

  Genie came running down and was as greatly disturbed as the other girlsat the disappearance of the cake.

  "Of course I never touched it!" she said indignantly. "I wanted my Dottyand my Dolly to take the prize. Do you s'pose I'd steal their lovelycake?"

  There was no mistaking the little girl's honesty and good faith, andMrs. Rose said finally: "Then it _must_ have been stolen by some onepassing by, but I can't understand it. There are no tramps around here,Long Sam is as honest as the day, and nobody else would be passing bythis window. I wish your father were here, Dotty."

  "So do I, but he couldn't do anything. The cake's gone, and it must havebeen taken by somebody. What do you say if we make another, Dolly?"

  Dolly looked blank. "Make another!" she said slowly; "why it's threeo'clock now, and the fair begins at four. We couldn't do it, Dot, andanyway we couldn't make a prize one. I wouldn't have the heart to tryagain as hard as I did for that one. Would you?"

  "Yes, I would! I'd just like to fly at it and make one as good as thator better! I know who stole that cake, Dorinda Fayre! It was some girlwho had made a cake herself and who was afraid ours would take theprize, and so she came and stole it!"

  "Oh, Dorothy Rose! aren't you ashamed to think such a thing! And anyway,how could any girl do that even if she was mean enough?"

  "Of course she could!" and Dotty's eyes flashed; "everybody knew aboutour cake, and they knew it would take the prize, and so of course theywanted it out of the way! Now that's just what happened, because it'sthe only thing that can have happened. As Mother says, there aren't anytramps around here. We always set cakes or pies on that window shelf andthey've never been stolen. Come on, I say, let's make another; I hate tohave any girl get ahead of me like that!"

  "Oh, Dotty, it just seems as if I couldn't make another. Why we werethree hours on that one this morning. It would be after six o'clockbefore we could get another done. And I know it wouldn't be any good,I'm too upset to make it properly. I'm all of a quiver. And besides wehaven't all the things in the house."

  "No, we've no pineapple. But let's make some other kind of a cake,chocolate, or something."

  "Yes! I think I see a chocolate cake taking the prize! Why don't youmake ginger-bread and be done with it? That prize won't go to any commonkind of cake, like chocolate."

  "It might if it was awful good chocolate. Oh, Dolly, our cake was sobeautiful!" And Dotty's overwrought nerves gave way and she burst intoviolent sobbing.

  "Well, crying won't do any good, Dot," and Dolly drew a long sigh; "Idon't blame you for crying, 'cause I know you can't help it. But I can'tseem to cry, I'm too--too flattened out."

  Dolly looked the picture of disheartened woe, but it was not her natureto give way to tears. She felt absolutely dismayed and utterly castdown, as if under a depression that would not lift, but she gave nophysical sign of this except by her tense, drawn face and her frequentdespairing sighs.

  "It's just awful, girlies," said Mrs. Rose, full of helpless sympathy;"but I can't think of anything to do. I don't believe you could makeanother cake successfully, you're too nervous and upset, both of you."

  Maria, however, did not take it so calmly. Her grief was more boisterouseven than Dolly's. She ran round the kitchen, throwing her apron overher head, and wailing and moaning like a crazy woman.

  "Oh, dat cake! dat cake!" she groaned, dropping into a chair and rockingback and forth in ecstasies of woe. "Dat hebenly cake! Sho'ly Miss Dottyand Miss Dolly yo' could make anudder. I kin help yo', and we'll whiskit up in a jiffy. Do make some kind, oh do, now!"

  "No, Maria," and Dolly looked positive; "we can't make another cake.It's out of the question. Shall we go to the fair at all, Dot?"

  "Yes, of course we will! I want to find out what girl was mean enoughand smart enough to cut up this trick!"

  "Come on then. You'd better wash your face, you're all teary looking. Is'pose we might as well go, but I don't feel a bit like it. All thefun's gone out of it."

  Dotty ran away to bathe her reddened eyes, and Dolly gravely walkedround the kitchen, looking here and there as if the cake might havevoluntarily hidden itself somewhere.

  "It's most mysterious," said Mrs. Rose. "I never heard of anything beingstolen up in this region before. I wish Mr. Rose were here, but ofcourse he couldn't do anything, and I think we may feel sure that hedidn't steal the cake."

  "Where is he?" asked Dolly, smiling a little at the jest.

  "Gone over to the Norris camp, I think. I wish the boys were here; ofcourse they couldn't do anything, but they could help us express ourindignation."

  "Yes, they could do that, but it wouldn't do any real good. Hello, Dot,ready?"

  The two girls started off down the path and Mrs. Rose wat
ched them gowith a sad heart. She knew how disappointed they were, after all theirtrouble to make the cake, and she couldn't imagine what had become ofit.

  "I can't believe any of the girls came and took it," she said to Maria.

  "No, ma'am, dat dey didn't! dat cake was sperrited away by ghos'es.Dat's what it was!" And the big black eyes rolled in terrifiedapprehension. "Yas'm, sho'ly fer certain, dat's what happened. It's dework of dem sperrits!"

  Mrs. Rose went on into the house unwilling to subscribe to Maria'stheory, but equally unable to propound any of her own.

  * * * * *

  The girls reached the hotel where the fair was held and joined the gaythrongs of people that were entering.

  "Hello," said Maisie Norris as she met them. "Where's your cake?"

  Now Dolly and Dotty had made up their minds not to tell of thecatastrophe, until they could make some endeavour to find out if therewere any suspicious looks or hints to be noticed among the other youngcake makers.

  "Where's yours?" Dotty said to Maisie.

  "Oh, I left mine in the committee room. You know the committee take allthe cakes, and then those that haven't any chance at all, they send outto the cake table to be sold. But the ones that have a chance at theprize they keep for final decision. They've kept mine so far, but EdithHolmes' was just sent out. It's too bad, it's a lovely chocolate cake."

  "It is too bad," agreed Dotty, "but I don't believe a chocolate cakewill take the prize, do you?"

  "No, probably not," said Maisie. "Mine's a variety cake. What sort isyours?"

  Dotty hesitated, for she well knew they had no cake in the committeeroom, but Dolly said: "We made up ours. We mixed things together that wenever heard of combining before. It was mostly Dot's invention."

  "But Dolly made the layers and did the icing," put in Dotty, unwillingto take all the credit.

  "Sounds lovely," said Maisie, and then her attention was divertedelsewhere and she ran away.

  No more embarrassing questions were asked, for every one assumed thatDotty and Dolly had given their cake to the committee when they arrived.

  A dozen times during the afternoon they were asked, "Has your cake beensent out yet?" And they truthfully answered no.

  But no hint could they glean from the words or looks of any girl to makethem suspect wrong-doing.

  "I can't keep it up any longer, Dot," said Dolly at last, in anundertone. "I feel as if I'm telling a lie, when I let them all think wehave a cake with the committee."

  "Fiddlesticks! it's none of their business. And anyway they have justthat much more chance at the prize. Don't tell anybody, Doll, it can'tdo any harm to keep it to ourselves, and if one certain person takesthe prize, I just want to see how she looks or what she says when I tellher our cake was stolen."

  "Why, Dotty Rose! Do you mean to say you suspect anybody?"

  "I don't say that; and I won't mention any name, even to you, but justyou wait and see. They'll announce the prize winner at six o'clock andit's after five now."

  So Dolly deferred to Dotty's wishes in the matter, and as there was muchgoing on and plenty of diverting incidents, the hour slipped away andsoon a whisper was passed around that the committee had made theirchoice.

  Mrs. Van Zandt, the aristocratic and somewhat eccentric old lady who hadoffered the prize, came over to the cake table and smiled as she beganher speech.

  "It has been rather difficult," she said; "to decide among the beautifuland delicious cakes selected by the committee, for my final test. Therewere half a dozen at the last judging, that seemed equally well made anddelightful of taste. Of course, I did not know who made the variousentries, and so I decided, entirely on the merits of the cake itself.And considering everything, the method, the execution and the delicacyof flavours, I adjudge the best cake submitted in this contest to bethe one that represents the joint work of Miss Dorothy Rose and MissDorinda Fayre. And I'm greatly pleased to present these two young ladieswith the golden double eagle I offered as a prize, and I consider itwell earned and honestly won."

  If Dolly and Dotty had been amazed when they missed the cake from thepantry window, they were ten times more amazed now. What could it mean?There must be some mistake. Dotty's quick thought was that somehow theirnames had been connected with some other girl's cake, but in a momentthat illusion was dispelled by the sight of their own beautiful whitecake being brought in and placed in the very centre of the cake table.

  It was positively their own cake, although a portion had been cut fromone corner for the members of the committee to taste.

  Realising that by some miracle their cake had been submitted, and hadwon the prize, Dolly and Dotty suddenly became aware that they must dotheir part, and together they stepped forward to receive the prize fromMrs. Van Zandt.

  "I'm sorry it is not in two ten dollar gold pieces," she said, as shesmilingly held it out to the blushing girls; "but you must divide itbetween you."

  Smiling, Dolly and Dotty held out their hands together, and togetherreceived the gold piece, holding it between them as they bowed theirthanks.

  Then there was a hubbub of congratulations and laughter and chatter fromthe girls. It seemed unnecessary to say anything about the cake havingbeen stolen, so the two D's smiled and beamed as they listened toflattering words about their prize winning cake.

  Soon they were flying homeward to tell the family all about it.

  "Our cake was there, and we took the prize!" cried Dotty, as they rushedinto the living-room of the Rose bungalow.

  "How did it get there?" cried Mrs. Rose, and Mr. Rose and Genieexclaimed in surprise, while Maria appeared in the kitchen doorway,holding up her hands and crying out: "Dem sperrits jes' nachelley wafteddat cake right ober to de fair place!"

  "We don't know," Dolly went on, taking up the tale. "I asked two orthree ladies of the committee, and they didn't seem to know anythingabout it--about how it got there. They just said it was there, enteredin our names, and it sounded so silly to ask them to find out whobrought it, that I just didn't."

  "It _was_ our cake," declared Dotty; "and it took the prize. So that'sall right. But, however did it get there, unless it walked over itself.You didn't take it, did you, Daddy?"

  "No," said Mr. Rose; "I did not. I would willingly have done so, but yougirls insisted on taking it yourselves."

  Just then the boys rushed in.

  "Great sport!" cried Bob, flinging his cap and sweater on a chair;"Norris's boat is the swiftest thing ever!"

  "You bet it is! Wow, but it was a great race!" And Bert Fayre waved hishands in enthusiasm; "Hello, girls, did your dinky white cake catch thegold piece? Did you bamboozle the judges into thinking it was fit toeat?"

  "Yes, we did!" cried Dolly, her blue eyes sparkling with delight; "but,oh, Bert, what do you think! We don't know how the cake got there!"

  "Got there? Why, Bob and I took it over. We knew you girls never couldtransport that masterpiece of modern architecture all that way insafety."

  "You boys took it over?" and Dotty looked dumfounded.

  "Sure we did," said Bob; "weren't you glad?"

  "But why didn't you tell us? we almost went crazy!"

  "Crazy nothing! We left a note on the pantry shelf saying we took it. Wecalled to you girls but you were primping in your room and didn'tanswer. Maria wasn't on deck, so I just scribbled on a paper that we'dtaken the cake and left the paper in its place."

  Bob looked injured at the thought that their kindness was notappreciated.

  "We didn't see any note," said Dolly; "where did you leave it?"

  "Right on the pantry shelf, where we took the cake away from. You don'tseem awful grateful, for what we thought would be a boon and a blessingto you. I can tell you we had to work pretty hard to get the old thingover there without a smooch on it, and I didn't dare put anything overit for fear it would stick to the icing."

  While he was talking, Dotty had flown out to the pantry and returnedwith the bit of scribbled paper. "Here it is!" s
he cried; "it was on thefloor under the shelf!"

  "Must have blown off," said Bert, carelessly; "well, no harm done; cakegot there all right. Took prize all right. Everybody happy."

  "Yes, we are now," and Dolly grinned contentedly; "but we had a prettymiserable afternoon."

  "Oh, pshaw, now," and Bob tweaked the black curls that clustered roundher temple; "you must have known we took it, even without the note.Where else _could_ it have gone to?"

  "That's so," agreed Dotty; "and it's all right now. But next time youleave an important document for me, don't leave it in an open window ona breezy afternoon."