“I thought that was pretty well understood,” growled Bobby.
“No girl could have climbed over that fence, that’s sure!”
“Oh, I grant you that!” cried Bobby. “But she paid to have it done. There are plenty of tough fellows from down at the ‘Four Corners’ who work at the slaughter house. They could be hired to do it.”
“Hush, Bobby!” commanded the doctor’s daughter. “I feel terribly condemned. I am afraid we are accusing Hester wrongfully. A girl couldn’t have two such very opposite sides to her character,” and she promptly told her friend what Dr. Agnew had related regarding Hester’s rescue of little Johnny Doyle from the sewer basin.
“Gee! that was some jump, wasn’t it?” demanded the admiring Bobby. Then she shook her head slowly. “Well,” she remarked, “nobody ever said Hester wasn’t brave enough. She was brave enough to slap your face!” and then she giggled.
“I don’t care,” said Nellie, slowly. “I fear we went too far when we asked Mrs. Case to take her off the team. And I’m sure it isn’t right for us to accuse her of being the cause of the trouble at the gym.—without further and better evidence.”
“Oh, dear, Nell! you’re a great fuss-budget!” cried the effervescent Bobby. “Are you sure that your Daddy Doctor saw quite straight when he saw Hester save the kid? You know, he’s getting awfully absent-minded.”
Nellie smiled at her, taking Bobby’s jokes good naturedly.
“I know father is absent-minded,” she admitted. “But not as bad as all that.”
“I don’t know,” returned Bobby, with apparent seriousness. “The other day when he put the stethoscope to me before practice, I expected to see him take the receiver away from his ear and holler ‘Hello, Central!’ into it.”