"Polly has been waiting so long, we'll start for our walk, and I'll tell the news as we go along," said Rose.
"Then let's hurry," said Polly, "because I'm wild to know what it was."
The three little friends tramped along the path that was always their favorite for a walk, and when they had reached a spot where a brook was spanned by a tiny bridge, they sat down to rest. It was then that Rose turned toward Polly.
"I'm not going to ask you to guess who was at our house, or why I could not meet you at two, as I promised, because you never could guess that, so I'll tell you. It was,—Great Aunt Rose!"
"Oh, Rose, why did she come?" Polly gasped. "Not to take you back with her!"
"That's just what I said, when I heard that she was in the parlor," said Sprite.
"Well, when I saw her carriage coming up the avenue," Rose said, "the shivers went up and down my back, but Uncle John, when he got up to go in to see her, stooped and whispered in my ear: 'Don't be frightened, little girl, for remember that you now belong to me, and I shall not easily give you up. Now, come in with me, dear. You know I can not refuse to let her see you.'
"So he took my hand, and we went in together.
"Great Aunt Rose sat stiff and prim in the center of the sofa.
"'How do you do, Aunt Rose?' I said, but she kept looking at me without speaking.