"So here are the young heroes that the paper has been making so much fuss about," she said mischievously, and Bob and Joe blushed to their ears. "Just wait a minute until I run up and see if Nellie is ready to receive you."
"If it's too late, we can wait until another day," said Bob.
"Oh, no," replied Mrs. Sterling. "She's been looking forward to your coming all day and has spoken about it a number of times. She is very anxious to thank you both, and I'm sure it will do her good to see you. The doctor was here this morning and said it would be all right. Of course, it won't do to stay too long, for the poor lamb is still rather nervous after her accident, and no wonder. Just wait here a minute."
She disappeared, but a moment later was at the head of the stairs motioning to them to come up.
They were ushered into a bright, sunny room, where they found Miss
Berwick resting in an easy chair, propped up with pillows.
She was a pretty girl with blue eyes and brown hair and regular features. Her age appeared to be about twenty. Her face was pale, as was natural under the circumstances, but it lighted up with a friendly and grateful smile as the party, entered.
She extended her hand to the boys in turn, as Mrs. Sterling introduced them.
"You must excuse my not rising," she said, "but I've had a rather nerve-racking experience, as no one knows better than yourselves. I want to thank you with all my heart for the way you came to my help when I was unable to help myself."
"Oh, you make too much of it, Miss Berwick," Bob replied, and Joe assented with a nod of his head. "We just had the good luck to be close at hand, and if we hadn't done it, somebody else would."
"That doesn't change the fact that you did it," replied the girl. "And you took a chance of losing your lives. The gasoline tank might have exploded and killed us all."