Bessie cried out sharply at that word.
"Oh—oh!" she said. "Really, I've told the truth—I have, indeed! If I said what you want me to say, than I'd be lying—but I'm not."
"Silence, please!" said General Seeley, sternly. "I'm talking with Mrs. Chester now, young woman. You've had your chance—and you wouldn't take it. Now I'm done with you!"
"What do you mean, General?" asked Mrs. Chester, looking very grave.
"You'll have to send her away—where she came from, Mrs. Chester. You and the girls you can vouch for are welcome, but I can't have her here."
"I can't do that, General," said Mrs. Chester, not angrily, but gravely, and looking him straight in the eyes.
"But you must! I won't let her stay here! And these are my grounds, aren't they?"
"Certainly! But if Bessie goes, we all go with her. It's not our way to desert those we've once befriended and taken in, General."
"That is for you to decide, ma'am," he said, stiffly. He got up and bowed to her. "I'm sorry that this should cause a quarrel—"
"It hasn't," said Mrs. Chester, smiling. "It takes two to make a quarrel, and I simply won't quarrel with you, General. I know you'll be sorry for what you've said when you think it over. Come, Bessie!"