"How could your Aunt Debby think of such a thing? Didn't she also see Rob?" asked Helen.
"I did not believe you could show such a spirit," laughed Hester. "You are always so calm."
"When things touch myself, but not when they touch my friends," said Helen.
"Please calm yourself, Helen. You know we made a compact this very morning and promised never to quarrel or be angry with each other."
"The same old school-girl fashion," said Robert Vail. "If I am a good prophet, you'll be tearing each other's hair before the day is over."
"Why did Aunt Harriet not come?" asked Helen, abruptly changing the subject of conversation.
"She went on a little trip into Virginia," he replied. Then observing the anxious look which came to Helen's face, he continued, "We tried to persuade her not to go, but she said this might be a real clue and she could not be satisfied to remain home. Father would have insisted, for mother is really worn out, but she was so anxious to go that she and father went off last night."
"You remember me, I see, Miss Alden."—Page [149].