"Come where?" he demanded.
"To the school. To the campus where the fountain is."
"Ha! you know that, my pretty bird?" he returned. "Well! this will perhaps relieve the good Picolet of my presence—who knows?"
"Then I will take it," Ruth said, hastily, her hand closing on the billet.
"Comme il faut," he said, and went away down the passage, humming in his bassoon voice.
And so, as she sped shoreward between her two friends, Ruth had the little letter tucked away in the bosom of her frock. The secret troubled her. She was really glad to say good bye to Tom at the landing, and all the way back in the wagonette, although Helen sat close to her and tried to show her how sorry she was for her past neglect, Ruth was very silent.
For she was much disturbed by this secret. She feared she was doing wrong in carrying the note to Miss Picolet. Yet, under different circumstances, she might have thought little of it. But after her talk with Mrs. Tellingham about the mystery of the campus, she was troubled to think that she was taking any part in the French teacher's private affairs.
Helen was so filled with the excitement of the day, and of her long talk with her twin brother, that she did not observe Ruth's distraught manner.
"And we'll have such fun!" Ruth finally awoke to hear her chum declare in a whisper. "Father's always promised to get a place in the woods, and Snow Camp is a delightful spot."
"What are you talking about, Helen?" demanded Ruth, suddenly.