Jane considered. She felt sure that there was something behind Christopher’s words—something he was trying to make her understand; but she could not make out what it was.
“Well, anyway,” she announced finally, “I haven’t the measles, nor anything else. I don’t know about you, but if you are coming down with anything you’ll have plenty of time to get over it before we go home.”
Which practical speech ended the conversation for the present.
Whatever Christopher’s deep-laid schemes were, he decided that the time was not yet ripe to unfold them. Then, too, there might be no necessity. He would wait and see.
But immediately after breakfast, two days before the steamship “Metric” was due to arrive in New York, he came upon his grandparents as they were ending a private consultation. Christopher overheard grandmother say:
“It will have to be Monday, then, two days after they get here.”
The words set Christopher thinking. As usually happens when one overhears something intended for other ears, he misunderstood grandmother’s meaning and jumped to the conclusion that the Monday to which grandmother referred was the day set for their return to the city. To leave Sunnycrest and all its joys, the freedom, the open air, country life! To leave on Monday and this was Thursday! Clearly there was no time to be lost. He rushed off to find Jane, carried her to the most remote corner of the orchard and there they sat a good hour or more, quite beyond the reach of ears, however sharp, but showing, had any one been interested enough to watch, that the topic under discussion was very weighty—and with two sides to it, to judge from Jane’s determined attitude and Christopher’s of persuasion.
It had been arranged that grandfather and grandmother were to go to the city on Friday afternoon, sleep there overnight, meet the ship which was to dock very early in the morning and bring the twins’ parents back with them to Sunnycrest on Saturday.
Grandmother, who believed in being punctual always, had already packed her bag and was in readiness for the journey quite soon after breakfast, although they did not have to start until after an earlier dinner than usual.
But shortly after eleven o’clock Jane came into the house looking very much flushed and complained of not feeling well. Even as she spoke, she turned white and became very ill. Christopher, who had followed her to the door of grandmother’s room, looked on with deep concern.