"You'd better send this to her, then. It might save paying out five thousand dollars a second time."
"Is five thousand dollars much money?"
"It would buy a pretty good house in some places. But your supper is getting cold, miss."
"Oh, well, I'll eat it. Thank you ever so much, Martin, for telling me all about the receipt. Tell Maria I am much obliged for the cake; it is so brown and lovely, and thank whoever put the dear little bunch of violets in the middle. You may go now, Martin."
She spoke in the little superior way in which Mrs. Mayfield gave her orders, and Martin smiled.
"It's a little lady," he said to the cook. "She didn't forget the 'Thank you' to send you, and was as pleased as Punch at the cake and flowers. She's a high and mighty way, too, when she needs it, and that's what a lady should have."
Much as Ruth enjoyed her supper, she would have given more thought to it, if she had not been so concerned about the receipt. She would send it to Miss Hester, or—no—if she could only know whether it meant that they could really go back to the big house, or that it would give enough to Miss Hester to allow of her taking Ruth back into her home, how quickly would the child hasten there. It would be a fine opportunity just now. If only Dr. Peaslee were here for her to consult. He had told her before she left Springdale that if ever she needed advice or help to write to him.
"I'll do it," she said. "I'll write to him this very evening and get Martin to mail the letter for me."
She set to work as soon as her supper was over and managed a tolerably fair page to send to the doctor. The spelling was not so good as the handwriting, for the latter was something upon which Ruth prided herself.
"Dear Doctor," she wrote, "I found a reseat sined Simon Petty I am going to send it to you but if you are coming to the sitty soon praps I'd better keep it till you come. I am very well and so is Hetty. We had supper together and there were vilets in the cake. If you had been here, I would have given you some. Hetty sends her love to you. Your loving friend,"
"RUTH HENRIETTA BRACKENBURY."
"P. S. dont tell Aunt Hester about the reseat till we know more about it. She might be orfully disappointed if it should turn out not to be good. Wouldn't it be nice if it would get us all back in the big house."