As for Miss Darby, she returned to the house and, finding Grandpa Gil on the porch, began to tell him of the sight she had just seen. “I declare, that Elizabeth of Kate’s is the oddest child,” she began. “What do you suppose I just caught her and that Tyson girl doing?”
“Nothing very bad, I hope,” returned Grandpa Gil.
“Well, no, not bad exactly, but extremely imprudent. They had borrowed two remarkably dirty little babies, and were taking them out for a walk. I hope they will not be seized with any disease from contact with such filth. I warned them to go home immediately and change their clothes.”
A smile came over Grandpa Gil’s face. He felt sure that Elizabeth had some motive beyond what appeared, and the next time he and she were alone he began to question her. “I hear you and Betsy were parading around with two borrowed babies, the other day,” he began. “Did you want live dolls to play with, and were those the only ones you could get?”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly that,” replied Elizabeth. “We didn’t do it to make a play of it, for it was really very hard work, but we did do it for a good cause.”
“I suppose you couldn’t tell without divulging a secret. We have had a great many secrets, you and I, Elizabeth, and I think I can keep one pretty well. Can’t you tell me?”
Elizabeth was silent for a moment. She did not know exactly how to explain, but it was quite true that if she could tell anyone it would be Grandpa Gil, who was such a friend and who always took her confidences in just the right spirit. “Well, you see,” she started by saying, “aunt Eunice dislikes me very much, and my mother is sorry and so is Kathie. They would like to have her like me because she might—now please don’t breathe a word of this, Grandpa Gil, for this is the secretest part of the secret——”
“I promise solemnly on my honor as a gentleman, that I will keep the secret inviolate,” said Grandpa Gil, with a slight flicker of a smile.
The words sounded a little familiar to Elizabeth, but she was satisfied with the promise, and went on:
“You see she has no nearer relations than mother and cousin Belle, and she is really quite good and generous to most people and I heard mother and Kathie talking about how nice it would be if she had only taken a fancy to me and could help with my education.”