“Indeed not. You are going to lie down and rest here, while I shut the doors and keep the boys out. Everybody will want some hot coffee. Chuck Williams will do the cooking. It was not by chance that he was put on this detail. Wait till you taste his coffee. I don’t think it will hurt you for once.”
“Oh, I take a cup occasionally. You are so good, Donald,” she added, as Donald covered her with a light cover which was folded on the end of the sofa. The marines were now coming to the house, and she and Donald could hear their conversation.
The stock had been fed and watered. Pails of warm milk were being carried into the kitchen, and Betty could hear the voice of some one in charge whom she supposed to be “Chuck Williams.” Donald warned the sailor lads not to disturb the weary lady in the front room and listened to some good-natured joking at his expense. A fire was made in the stove and it was not long before the aroma of fresh coffee stole into the front room where Betty lay resting. How different this was. She was perfectly safe, in the hands of her own people, and, best of all, with Donald to manage everything. He came in soon with a cup of coffee and a little sandwich made of bread and butter and blackberry jam.
“Have you had anything yet?” asked Betty.
“No, but I shall in a minute. I was just thinking that I had not finished telling you how we knew you were here. After I found the glove I went right back to Greycliff. That was early this morning,——”
“Then you were up all night!”
“Surely; that is what soldiers and sailors are for.”
“I have made everybody so much trouble,—but go on, Donald.”
“Well, there was great excitement at Greycliff, of course, over your disappearance, and more when I told of the arrest of the two men. I showed the glove to Miss Randolph and I never saw such a look as she gave me. I know that she thought the men had put an end to you, but I did not think so, someway. I saw some footprints on the wet sand, small ones with the big ones,—you see it could not have been long after you had gone that we caught the men. I thought that they would hardly injure you because of the hue and cry there would be, and the approach of the hydroplane and its swift retreat made me think of White Wings as the most likely place. I can’t say that there was so much sense in my reasoning, but it proved to be true.
“Now for the part that I will have to give Holley credit for, though you can imagine how I feel toward him! While I was trying to cheer up Miss Randolph and telling her that I was going to try to hurry off our party to White Wings, one of the girls came running in with a note in her hands. She had gone into Louise Holley’s room for something and had seen this note on the bureau,—it was more of a notice, that read, ‘Tell Miss Randolph to look at White Wings for Betty.’ Louise had had a telephone message last night about nine o’clock, Miss Randolph said, but nobody thought anything of it, for her brother often telephoned. It must have come from White Wings instead of from the academy.”