"Well, she's gone," was his cheerful remark.
"But she said she'd come again next summer," Betty sobbed, "and just as soon as she gets to the city she's going to send me a beautiful doll to dress for Samone."
"Perhaps Samone won't be here then," said Gerald.
"Won't be here! Why not?" asked Betty, wiping her eyes and staring at the boys.
"Well, you know Antoine's been drinking again, and I heard some men saying if he keeps on they are going to take Samone away from him. They're going to send her to the House of Correction,—no, I don't believe that's the name of the place, either, but it is some home for children that don't belong to anybody."
"Oh, what will Antoine do?" exclaimed Betty.
"He'll fight," suggested Billy, "and so I will, too."
"I'll tell you, boys, what we can do," advised Betty. "You know, it won't be long now before Uncle John comes to go hunting. Of course, Aunt Florence will tell him all about Antoine and Samone, and how she couldn't make him stop drinking, because she didn't know how to begin talking to him about it. Now, everybody says that if Antoine would make up his mind to be a different kind of a man, he could, and everybody likes him, even now, so I'm just going to ask Uncle John to go down to his house and make him stop. That's a fine plan. Folks always listen to Uncle John because he's so good-looking."