Mrs. Ditmar shook her head.
“We did hope so. We went over to see them at the Royal Hotel soon after their house burned down, but Mrs. Hunter wasn’t very nice to us. She almost acted as if it were our fault!”
Jane suppressed a giggle and muttered under her breath, “The plot thickens.”
“Oh, I guess she was just all upset,” remarked Mary Louise nervously. “She’ll get over that.” She smiled. “Anyway, you don’t have to be gloomy, Mrs. Ditmar. Can’t you get your tennis things on and play with us this morning?”
“Thanks awfully, but I don’t think I had better leave Horace here alone.”
“Bring him along!”
“He wouldn’t come. No, I better not. But perhaps I’ll see you in swimming later on in the morning. It’s awfully nice of you girls to be so friendly.”
“We’ll look for you in the water, then.... And, by the way, you’ll come to the party on the island tomorrow night, won’t you?”
Again the young woman refused.
“No, we really can’t afford that. It’s two dollars for the supper, you know, and besides that; we’d have to hire one of Mr. Frazier’s canoes.”