"Why are you here?"
"I left the school at Beverly because the girls made it so uncomfortable for me there that I could not bear it longer," she explained.
"In what way did they make it uncomfortable for you?"
"They jeered at me because—because—Gran'pa Jim is being hunted by the officers of the law, who accuse him, of doing something wicked."
Mr. Conant frowned.
"Perhaps their attitude was only natural," he remarked; "but there was no accusation against you, my child. Why didn't you stick it out? The scandal would soon have died away and left you in peace."
"I was unhappy there," she said simply, "and so I thought I would come here to mother and Gran'pa Jim."
"Here?" as if surprised.
"Yes. Aren't they here, with you?"
"No."