"Mind!" cried May; "oh, we should be delighted! More the merrier!"
"Miss Cummings doesn't give us a very merry time," remarked Donald dryly.
May laughed.
"She is a very serious sort of person," she explained to Josephine, "even out of school hours."
"But she is a most excellent teacher," Mr. Basset said, "and that is the main thing to be considered. You had a governess in India, had you not, Josephine?"
"Yes, Uncle John," Josephine answered, "Miss Ford. She was a niece of Mrs. Ford's. Last June, though, she was married, and since then I've had a holiday—father thought it would do me no harm. Miss Ford and I were great friends."
"I don't think I could ever be very friendly with Miss Cummings," observed May. "Those Fords must be very nice people," she added.
"They are dears—all of them!" Josephine declared. "Colonel Ford is a splendid soldier; I believe his men would die for him."
"Do you mean the Indian soldiers?" asked Donald.
"Yes, of course. Father says they love and honour him because he's so just, and at the same time so kind. He's such a popular officer. And his wife—oh, I can't tell you all she's been to me! She was my mother's friend, and I think she has always loved me for my mother's sake."