VI
A week later Gordon Ruggles accosted his aunt in the garden.
“Look here, Aunt Gracie, what have you done with our little Bird of Paradise?” he demanded angrily.
“Bird of Paradise! Madelaine left here night before last for boarding-school. But what school it is, or where it is, you’ll never learn—if I can help it!”
“Hid her away from me, eh?”
“Speaking bluntly, precisely that! For a time at least.”
“All right, Aunt Gracia! If you want to make it personal, I accept the challenge. We’ll see who gets Madelaine in the end—you or I. Only be a good sport if you lose, Aunt Grace. Be a good sport if you lose!”
He vaulted the hedge and was gone.