“I guess they didn’t, Dolly.”
“Then they simply didn’t care, that’s all. And isn’t that dreadful, Bessie? The idea of doing such a thing!”
“I wish we knew why they did it, or why Mr. Holmes wants them to do such things. It’s easy enough to see why they did it–they wanted the money he had promised to pay if they got Zara and me away from here.”
“You remember what I told you. Mr. Holmes expects to make a lot of money out of you two, in some fashion. I know you laughed at me when I said that before, and said he had so much money already that that couldn’t be the reason. But there simply can’t be any other, Bessie; that’s all there is to it.”
Bessie sighed wearily.
“I wish it was all over,” she said. “Sometimes I’m sorry they haven’t caught me and taken me back.”
“Why, Bessie, that’s an awful thing for you to say! Don’t you want to be with us?”
“Of course I do, Dolly! I’ve never been so happy in my whole life as I have been since that morning when I saw you girls for the first time. But I hate to think of the trouble my staying makes, and when I think that maybe there’s danger for the rest of you, as there was last night–”
“Don’t you worry about that, Bessie! I guess we can stand it if you can. That’s what friends are for–to share your troubles. You mustn’t get to feeling that way–it’s silly.”
“Well, it doesn’t make much difference, Dolly. I don’t seem to be able to help it. But I wish it was all over. And do you know what worries me most of all?”