"Tell her, Sylvia! And I want to hear how you delivered the letter," said Mrs. Carleton.
So Sylvia told the story of creeping out of the house at nearly midnight, of the man who had declared her to be a runaway darky, of Estralla following her, and of their return. "And the door was closed and fastened, although I left it open," she concluded.
Mrs. Fulton recalled that one night they had been slightly disturbed by some unusual noise and that Mr. Fulton had gone down-stairs and discovered the front door open. "And we blamed Aunt Connie," she added.
"I did want to tell you, Mother," said Sylvia, "but it's even better to have Mrs. Carleton tell you."
That evening the story was retold to Mr. Fulton, who listened with even more surprise than Sylvia's mother had shown. He said that Estralla had been as brave as Sylvia, and that he wished he could do an equal service for the United States.
"This will be a fine story to tell Grandma Fulton," he whispered to
Sylvia, when he gave her his good-night kiss.
She awoke early, before Estralla appeared with the usual pitcher of hot water and to light the fire in the grate, and in a moment was out of bed and at her desk. She opened the envelope very carefully, expecting to see the pictured face of her kind friend smiling at her, But there was no picture. There were only two documents tied with red tape, and with big red seals on them, and a number of printed and signed papers.
"Oh, clear! It isn't anything at all except letters," exclaimed Sylvia, nearly ready to cry with disappointment. And, suddenly, she did cry—a cry so like Estralla's wail that the little darky just entering the room stopped short, and nearly dropped the pitcher of hot water.
"Wat's de matter, Missy? Wat is de matter?" Estralla demanded.
Tears were in Sylvia's eyes as she turned toward the little darky. They were not tears for her own disappointment at not finding the expected picture, but they were tears for what Sylvia believed to be the most bitter misfortune that could befall Estralla and Aunt Connie. For she was sure that the papers in that envelope were to tell her that Aunt Connie and Estralla had both been sold. But she resolved quickly that Estralla should not know of this until she had told her mother.