Josephine shook her dark head smilingly.
"No," she said, "but I told her that you had no friends in Exeter. She's taken a little furnished house, you know, and is doing war work in different ways—nursing, and attending at the stations with refreshments for the wounded as the Red Cross trains go through." Her face saddened as she spoke of the Red Cross trains.
"Oh, Josephine, I forgot to tell you something!" May exclaimed. "Who do you think is helping at the soldier's hospital at Midbury now? But you'll never guess! Mrs. Cummings! Yes, actually! She met Aunt Ann in Midbury yesterday and told her so."
"I shouldn't like Mrs. Cummings to nurse me," remarked Donald, "she'd give me the doldrums."
"But she's doing cooking, not nursing," May explained; "she told Aunt Ann that with her daughter generally away the best part of the day she could well spare the time to help at the hospital. Aunt Ann says she seemed much brighter than usual; she thought it must be because she had found something to take her thoughts from herself."
"When are we going to see Miss Cummings, May?" asked Josephine. "You know we told her we would call to see her during the holidays, and a week of them has gone. Couldn't we go to-morrow afternoon?"
"I should think so," May answered; "we could walk into the town early, look at the shops, and then call on Miss Cummings. If she's at home she'll be sure to want us to stay to tea."
Accordingly the following afternoon, about four o'clock, found the two little girls at the door of their governess' home. In response to May's knock Margaret Cummings herself came to the door. Her grave face lit up with a smile at sight of her visitors; she was evidently glad to see them.
"Oh, come in, come in!" she cried hospitably. Then, as they obeyed and followed her into the front sitting-room, she drew chairs for them into the little bay window which commanded a view of the road, and said: "Mother will be here presently—she's at the hospital. You must stop to tea. I've put the kettle on."
"We intended to stay if you asked us," Josephine replied frankly, "didn't we, May?"