The doctor was late and took his departure only just before the arrival of the travelers. He had been puzzled by Jane’s symptoms.
“There were evidences of an upset stomach,” he said, “but not enough to have caused fever and a breaking out.”
She might get up and dress, he added as he left, and such a scramble Jane had to get into her clothes in time, with one eye on the clock! But she succeeded, and was the first to rush into her dear, dear mother’s arms.
What a day of jubilation it was! What wonderful tales of travel! What wonderful presents! But through it all there was something not quite natural about the behavior of the children. Christopher’s cheerfulness was a little overdone. The look of unhappiness still lurked in the depths of Jane’s eyes and she very pointedly avoided her brother.
“If grandmother had not assured me to the contrary, I should say the children were suffering from a guilty conscience,” said Mr. Christopher Baker, Jr., to his wife.
“Yes,” she agreed. “And Janey appears on the eve of confession. I have noticed two or three times that she has been on the point of telling me something and Kit has stopped her. Do you suppose there can be something behind her illness?”
After supper the family were assembled on the veranda, and Mrs. Baker, Jr., or “Mrs. Kit” as she was generally called—asked about Letty.
“We know how interested you both must be in Mrs. Hartwell-Jones and Letty,” replied grandmother, “and so we have planned to invite them to Sunnycrest to spend a week. They are to come on Monday.”
Jane and Christopher exchanged sudden, startled looks.
“Aren’t we going home on Monday?” demanded Christopher.