her, or Miss Camilla may hear!” Sally stifled her resisting sister by the simple process of placing her hand forcibly over her mouth,—but it was too late. A door opened at the top of a flight of steps, and Miss Camilla’s astounded face appeared in the opening.
“What is it? Who is it?” she called, obviously frightened to death herself at this unprecedented intrusion. Huddled in a corner, they all shrank back for a moment, then Doris stepped boldly forward.
“It’s only ourselves, Miss Camilla,” she announced. “We have done a very dreadful thing, and we hadn’t any right to do it. But, if you’ll let us come upstairs, we’ll explain it all, and beg your pardon, and promise never to speak of it or even think of it again.” She led the others up the cellar steps, and into Miss Camilla’s tiny, tidy kitchen. Here, still standing, she explained the whole situation to that lady, who was still too overcome with astonishment to utter a word. And she ended her explanation thus:
“So you see, we didn’t have the slightest idea we were going to end at this house. But, all the same, we sort of felt that this cave was a secret of yours and that we really hadn’t any right to be interfering with it. But won’t you please forgive us, this time, Miss Camilla? And we’ll really try to forget that it ever existed.”
And then Miss Camilla suddenly found words. “My dear children,” she stuttered, “I—I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t the faintest idea what this all means. I never knew till this minute that there was anything like a cave or a tunnel connected with this house!”
And in the astounded silence that followed, the three stood gaping, open-mouthed, at each other.
CHAPTER XI
SOME BITS OF ROUNDTREE HISTORY
“BUT come into the sitting-room,” at length commanded Miss Camilla, “and let us talk this strange thing over. You must be tired and hungry, too, after this awful adventure of coming through that dreadful tunnel. You must have some of this hot gingerbread and a glass of lemonade.” And while she bustled about, on hospitable thoughts intent, they heard her muttering to herself:
“A cave—and a tunnel—and connected with this house!—What can it all mean?”