"Is it good or bad?" she asked cautiously.
"Bad!" cried Shirley in an awe-struck tone. "Awfully bad. Isn't it, Sarah?"
Sarah nodded hopelessly.
"It's so bad," she declared, "that you never heard anything as bad. And if you tell, Rosemary, I'll run away, as far off as I can run away, and never, never come back."
Sarah's dark eyes were red-rimmed and she seemed so desperately unhappy that Rosemary's kind heart was touched.
"Oh, Sarah darling, you know I won't tell!" she exclaimed. "I don't care what it is, I won't tell anyone. I promise."
Sarah drew a long breath of relief. She sat down on the floor, her favorite resting place, and Shirley scrambled down beside her.
"Well then," said Sarah more calmly, "I've lost Aunt Trudy's turquoise ring!"
"You've lost Aunt Trudy's turquoise ring!" repeated Rosemary. "How on earth could you lose her ring?"
"We were playing with the jewel case," murmured Sarah, a dark red flush rising under her brown skin.