The girls ate a rather forlorn meal in the big dining room. Cora waited on them in a more slipshod manner than usual and took no pains to conceal her dislike. Shortly after luncheon, they saw her leave the premises by the back gate.
“I’ll venture the Misses Gates don’t know she’s leaving,” Doris commented. “Cora thinks they’ll not find out she’s gone.”
The mansion seemed very quiet and desolate to the girls, and they found it difficult to settle down to reading.
“Why not see something of the town ourselves?” Doris suggested by way of a question. “We’re in for a dull time here this afternoon if we don’t bestir ourselves. Anyway, I must send Dave a message telling him we’ll go with him tomorrow.”
“Suits me fine,” Kitty agreed, putting aside her book. “But what shall we do about the ring? We can’t very well take it with us. We might be robbed.”
At a loss to know what to do with the ruby, Doris had carried it around in her pocket, but now she removed the tiny case and studied it in perplexity.
“I wish the Gates sisters would accept it,” she murmured. “I’m scared to death we’ll lose it.”
“They won’t take it,” Kitty returned, “and you know it will pain them to bring up the subject again.”
“We can’t wear the ring, that’s certain, for it isn’t ours. We’ll have to hide it somewhere.”
“But where?”