"Up against the gym porch; they were awfully wet and I didn't want to take the time to go to my room. I say it was a bit of a joke; you're thinking I was lost, wasn't it?" she asked, calmly.
Polly finished buttoning her dress.
"Maud," she said sternly "go back upstairs. To-morrow we may be able to see the joke, but not now."
Maud left with Fanny. "I'm most awfully sorry," were her last words.
A few minutes later, the girls sought the comfort of Mrs. Baird's charming sitting-room, and the promised hot soup.
Between sips they told her the story of their hunt and the fears that beset them. She listened delightedly, but with ready sympathy.
"You poor, dear children! What an experience! I talked to Maud very severely."
Betty thought she said: "I will talk."
"Don't tell her what we've told you," she begged, "I wouldn't have her know for anything."
"She'd say it was no end of a joke," Polly laughed.