However, the very next day the children heard from the bag of apples. A delightfully suspicious package awaited Tess and Dot at the old Corner House after school. It had been delivered by no less a person than Dr. Forsyth himself, who stopped his electric runabout in front of the old Corner House long enough to run in and set the pasteboard box on the sitting room table.
"What forever is that, Doctor?" demanded Mrs. MacCall.
"I hope it's something to make these children sick," declared the doctor, gruffly. "They are too disgracefully healthy for anything."
"Yes, thank our stars!" said the housekeeper.
"Oh, yes! oh, yes!" cried the apparently very savage medical man. "But what would become of all us poor doctors if everybody were as healthy as this family, I'd like to know?" and he tramped out to his car again in much make-believe wrath.
Dot came first from school and was shown the box. It was only about six inches square and it had a card tied to it addressed to both her and Tess. Dot eyed it with the roundest of round eyes, when she heard who had brought it.
"Why don't you open it, child?" demanded Aunt Sarah, who chanced to be downstairs. "Bring it here and I'll snip the string for you with my scissors."
"Oh! I couldn't, Aunt Sarah!" Dot declared.
"Why not, I should admire to know?" snapped the old lady. "It's not too heavy for you to carry, I should hope?"
"Oh, no, ma'am. But I can't open it till Tess comes," said Dot.