The moment the twins spied Tess and Dot in the pony phaeton they tore down the stairs from their quarters at the top of the Howbridge house, and flew out of the door to greet the little Corner House girls.
“Oh, Tessie and Dot!” cried Rowena, who looked exactly like her brother, only her hair was now grown long again and she no longer wore boy’s garments, as she had when the Kenways first knew her. “How nice to see you!”
“Where’s Sammy?” Ralph demanded. “Why didn’t he come along, too?”
“We’re glad to see you, Rowena and Rafe,” Tess said sedately.
But Dot replied eagerly to the boy twin:
“Oh, Rafe! what do you think? Sammy’s run away again.”
“Get out!”
“I’m going to,” said Dot, considering Ralph’s ejaculation of amazement an invitation to alight, and she forthwith jumped down from the step of the phaeton.
“You can’t mean that Sammy has run off?” cried Ralph. “Listen to this, Rowdy.”