`` It never will bake in the world . '' `` He ca n't turn it , so it wo n't be done on both sides . '' `` Wo n't be fit to eat any way ! '' And with these dark hints the girls consoled themselves for their want of skill . But the cake did bake a nice brown , Tony did turn it neatly with his jack-knife and the stick , and when it was done cut it into bits , added jelly , and passed it round on an old atlas ; and every one said , -- `` It really does taste good ! '' Two more were baked , and eaten with pickles for a change , then all were satisfied , and after a vote of thanks to Tony they began to think of sleep . `` Pat has gone home and told them we are all right , and mamma knows we can manage here well enough for one night , so do n't worry , Gwen , but take a nap , and I 'll lie on the rug and see to the fire . '' Mark 's happy-go-lucky way of taking things did not convince his sister ; but as she could do nothing , she submitted and made her friends as comfortable as she could . All had plenty of wraps , so the girls nestled into the three large chairs , Bob and Tony rolled themselves up in the robe , with their feet to the fire , and were soon snoring like weary hunters . Mark pillowed his head on a log , and was sound asleep in ten minutes in spite of his promise to be sentinel . Gwen 's chair was the least easy of the three , and she could not forget herself like the rest , but sat wide awake , watching the blaze , counting the hours , and wondering why no one came to them . The wind blew fiercely , the snow beat against the blinds , rats scuttled about the walls , and now and then a branch fell upon the roof with a crash . Weary , yet excited , the poor girl imagined all sorts of mishaps to Pat and the horses , recalled various ghost stories she had heard , and wondered if it was on such a night as this that a neighbor 's house had been robbed . So nervous did she get at last that she covered up her face and resolutely began to count a thousand , feeling that anything was better than having to wake Mark and own she was frightened . Before she knew it she fell into a drowse and dreamed that they were all cast away on an iceberg and a polar bear was coming up to devour Gus , who innocently called to the big white dog and waited to caress him . `` A bear ! a bear ! oh , boys , save him ! '' murmured Gwen in her sleep , and the sound of her own distressed voice waked her . The fire was nearly out , for she had slept longer than she knew , the room was full of shadows , and the storm seemed to have died away .
In the silence which now reigned , unbroken even by a snore , Gwen heard a sound that XXXXX her start and tremble .
added bake blew came cast made seemed slept snoring wondering