"Where?"
"Oh, it can't be!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, there she is! There she is!"
And Miss Walters—for it was indeed she—attracted by the hubbub as were some other passersby, looked at the girls first curiously, then in astounded amazement. To her startled vision it seemed as if all the girls in the world were gathered there on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. And they were her girls—the girls of Three Towers Hall!
She hurried forward, feeling that the next moment she must wake up and find it all a dream, and the girls surged around her in an eager flood.
They were so wildly surprised and joyful at the unexpected meeting that they were almost ready to get down on their knees and thank the fates who had sent her to them just when they needed her most.
They all started to talk at once, but Miss Walters, having recovered a little from her first surprise and seeing that a curious crowd was beginning to gather, spoke to them authoritatively.
"Come inside," she said. "I can't imagine what has brought you here like this, but we certainly can't talk about it in the street."
She led the way through the doorway and into the hotel lobby, which was fortunately deserted. Then she sank down upon a couch and the girls gathered eagerly around her.