Neale was leading her toward the house. “Great Peter’s pipe!” he gasped. “You can talk nineteen to the dozen and no mistake, Aggie. Hush, will you, till we get inside?”
Agnes was rather offended at this. She went up the porch steps ahead and opened the door into the hall. Ruth was just going into the sitting room.
“Oh, Ruthie! are you alone?” whispered Agnes.
“Goodness! how you startled me,” said the older sister. “There’s nobody in the sitting room. What do you want? Oh!”
“It’s Neale,” said Agnes, dragging the boy in. “And you’ve got to tell him how sorry you are for what you said!”
“Well—I like that!” exclaimed Ruth.
“You know you’re sorry,” pleaded the peacemaker. “Say so!”
“Well, I am! Come in, Neale O’Neil. Between us, you and I have made an awful mess of this thing. Mrs. Eland and Miss Pepperill have lost all their fortune.”
“How’s that?” asked the boy, easily.
“Didn’t Agnes tell you that the money and bonds have been stolen?”