48 LUCY AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.

if you get every thing ready. -—— And now the in-
spection is over.”

So saying, the General went away, and Ellen
said, —

* Well, Robert, you put your tools away, while
I go and get the cakes.”

“The cakes?” said Lucy ; “ what cakes?”

“Why, mother always gives each of us a cake,
inspection day, so that we may not forget to re-
mind father of it.”

Lucy followed Ellen into the house. She
supposed that she would go and ask her mother
for the cakes, and Lucy wished that she was
going to have one too. But Ellen did not go
after her mother. She went directly to a closet.
As she was opening the door of the closet, she
said, —

“Mother always puts our cakes here, on a
particular shelf — three of them, all in a row.”

They went into the closet, and there they
found the cakes ; only there were four, instead of
three.

“Why, here are four,” said Ellen; ‘mother
has made a mistake.”

* No,” said Lucy ; “one must be for me.”

“So it is,” said Ellen, “I’ve no doubt. I'll
go and ask mother.”