“There, there, my lambs,” she said, soothingly, “you can tell me all about it presently. But first let us get comfortable. Take off your dusty travelling frocks, and—have you any dressing-gowns?”
“No,” said Patty; “only just our night things. I’ve only my furnished toilet bag, and Flo hasn’t even that.”
“Never mind, dearie; we’ll improvise dressing jackets out of these big bath towels. Now shall I ring the bell and order a bite of supper? A sandwich now,—and a cup of coffee?”
“Not coffee,” said Flo, rousing herself a bit, “it keeps me awake. Let’s have chocolate.”
“Yes,” said Patty; “hot chocolate and chicken sandwiches.”
“And t-tongue,” put in sobbing Flo.
“And jam,” said Patty, almost smiling, now.
“Yes, yes,—assorted sandwiches, and nice hot cocoa.”
Mrs. Ponderby rang the bell and gave the order, and by the time the tray was brought, she had helped the girls to bathe their faces, and had deftly pinned huge bath towels round their shoulders in a very good imitation of dressing-sacques. And not until they were sipping their second cups of cocoa, and had made way with a goodly number of the little sandwiches, did she say, “Now tell me all about it.”
Patty told the whole story of their trip from Florence—and how her father had left them to go to the smoking-car for half an hour, and they had not seen him again.