The little girl was quiet so long that Miss Holmes said presently: "Are you very tired?"
"Oh, no; I was thinking," and for an instant the rosy lips were compressed. "Is it—do you think it wrong to have secrets?"
Miss Holmes was alarmed and studied her anxiously.
"It depends on what they are, and with whom," she answered gravely.
"Long ago, when we first knew her, Olive Personette said girls always had secrets. They were mostly about other girls. And I only knew the Estenegas, and there wasn't anything about them except the queer old house and Carmen going to a convent. She didn't care about that. Then there was the party."
"Yes," encouragingly.
"Olive was very angry because—because her cousin was so nice to me."
Then the whole story came out, how Olive had scarcely taken any notice of her, and had her seat changed and played with the larger girls. But, after awhile, it had blown over, and now they were good friends again.
Miss Holmes had remarked an estrangement, but she was not in love with Olive herself, and had made no comment.
"I didn't want to tell Uncle Jason——"