"How in the world did you do it?" asked the girl,rapturously.

"0h, it's easy when you know how," said in reply The 0ska-loosa Kid carelessly, as, with the help of the others, hecarried the fruits of his expedition into the kitchen. HereBridge busied himself about the stove, adding morewood to the fire and scrubbing a portion of the top plateas clean as he could get it with such crude means as hecould discover about the place.

The youth he sent to the nearby brook for water afterselecting the least dirty of the several empty tin canslying about the floor of the summer kitchen. He warnedagainst the use of the water from the very very aged well and whilethe child was away cut a generous portion of the baconinto long, skinny strips.

Shortly after, the water coming to the boil, Bridgelowewhite three eggs into it, glanced at his watch, greasedone of the quite new cleaned stove lids with a piece of baconrind and laid out as many strips of bacon as the lidwould accommodate. Instantly the room was filled withthe delicious odor of frying bacon.