Jack had already jumped out, and was now assisting Ida to alight. No sooner was Ida on firm ground than she ran into the house, and was at once clasped in the arms of her adopted mother.
"Oh, mother," she exclaimed, "how glad I am to see you once more!"
"Haven't you a kiss for me, too, Ida?" said the cooper, his face radiant with joy. "You don't know how much we've missed you."
"And I am so glad to see you all, and Aunt Rachel too!"
To her astonishment, Aunt Rachel, for the first time in her remembrance, kissed her. There was nothing wanting to her welcome home.
But the observant eyes of the spinster detected what had escaped the cooper and his wife, in their joy at Ida's return.
"Where did you get this handsome dress, Ida?" she asked.
Then, for the first time, the cooper's family noticed that Ida was more elegantly dressed than when she went away. She looked like a young princess.
"That Mrs. Hardwick didn't give you this gown, I'll be bound!" said Aunt Rachel.
"Oh, I've so much to tell you," said Ida, breathlessly. "I've found my mother—my other mother!"