“No,” she replied icily.
“But, Beth,” I remonstrated. “Silvia will be worrying about Di. How can we explain?”
“Silvia has gone to Windy Creek for the day. You see, I met that woman you sent to the hotel, and she told me she saw Di going over the hill with a boy, and I suddenly seemed to smell one of your mice, so I sent the woman on her way, and told Silvia you and Rob had found Diogenes. Just then some people she knew came along in a car and asked her to go to Windy Creek. I made her go and told her I’d look after Di.”
“You’re a brick, Beth!” applauded Ptolemy.
“If you boys will be very careful and not let anyone besides us know you are here, so mudder will not hear of it, for though she’d like to see you”––this without a flicker or flinch––“we want her to have a nice rest. I’ll come over every day except tomorrow and bring things from the hotel store, and bake up cookies and cake for you.”
A yell of approval went up.
“Why can’t you come tomorrow?” asked the greedy Demetrius.
“Because I’ve promised to go to the other end of the lake on a picnic. All the people at the hotel are going.”
“I’ll come tomorrow and spend the whole day with you,” promised Rob. “We’ll have a ride in the sailboat and do all sorts of things.”