Helen, Evelyn and the three younger girls were with Miss West in a suite of two rooms and bath. Hilary with June and Lilian, and Betty with Cathalina were in adjoining rooms not far away. Like the girls, Patricia dropped to sleep early, thinking about how perfectly everything was going about the trip, and how lovely and sensible her girls were. “And Cathalina has had so much experience in traveling.” But if she had known what was happening that night scarcely the proverbial forty winks would have been hers.
Waking early, and dozing uneasily for a while for fear that she would oversleep, Miss West rose and dressed, wakened the girls that were with her, saw that they were really roused and getting ready, and went to call the rest. In the room occupied by Cathalina and Betty she heard voices as she tapped on the door. “Up already, are you?” she said, as Betty, fully dressed, threw open the door and several somewhat excited voices began, “O, Miss West,—”
“Where did you find the pocketbook?” Hilary was asking Cathalina.
“Right there, on the floor.”
“And was nothing but the money gone?”
“That was all.” Cathalina was quite cool.
“What is this?” asked Patricia.
“Why, Miss Patricia, I seem to have been robbed last night,—but don’t worry. I don’t mind, really, though I wish I’d spent it yesterday!”
Miss West sat down on the bed. “Do you mean to tell me that your room was broken into last night? Tell me all about it. Did you wake up and see the robber?”
“Mercy, I hadn’t thought that we might! Wouldn’t it have been terrible? There isn’t much to tell. You see we didn’t lock the door—”