The girls could see that Bill went reluctantly, and they didn’t dare creep out from behind the shrubbery until they were sure that the man and boy had reached the stables, but they didn’t know Bill.
He told Pat that he guessed he’d stay out a spell and watch the moon, but instead he hid not far from the girls, for he was very sure that he had not been mistaken. When the crunching footsteps were heard no more, Anita and Gladys crept out and ran at top speed for the gate. Bill, elated to find that he had not been wrong, darted behind the hedge and kept close back of them.
The gate was a long way from the school, and a large iron-framed lantern hung just above it. For one second the girls were in the full light, and Billie, who had hoped they were robbers, was indeed disappointed.
As they returned, he stepped out in front of them and said, “Huh! Nothin’ but girls. Breakin’ the rules, I s’pose.” Then, thrusting his hands in his pockets, he strode off toward the stables.
The two girls, keeping hidden in the shadows, crept back through the basement door and joined the others behind the palms.
“Well, the letter is safely mailed,” Anita whispered to the waiting group. “I told Auntie to be careful how she worded her answer so that Madame Deriby would not suspect that we had written.”
“You would probably be expelled if it were found out,” Janet remarked.
“Perhaps you are planning to tell on us, Miss Nagel,” Gladys Merle flashed.
“No, I’m not,” was the calm reply, “but probably Billie will, or Patrick.”
Gladys Merle, pretending not to hear, turned to Anita as she said, “We ought to have an answer from that letter in two or three days, so keep on the lookout.”