Without waiting for a reply, she turned from the open door to the group inside just as Mollie rejoined them, exclaiming:
“Barbara is driving the runaways to the hotel for the machine!”
Mrs. Thurston started. She had been downstairs for some time helping to make the victims of the accident comfortable. She was a slim, sweet-faced little woman, whose entire world lay in her two lively young daughters, in whom she had unlimited faith.
But, in a moment, she smiled and said, “I am not afraid to trust Barbara with anything.”
Ruth Stuart’s lately pale face was glowing. “I think that is regularly splendid of her!” she exclaimed, with more animation than she had shown since she had left the carriage.
“Oh, Barbara is used to taking care of herself,” Gladys Le Baron interposed with a supercilious smile.
Mollie looked at her cousin a moment. “Yes,” she answered steadily, “we think it is a pretty good thing in our family.”
Gladys flushed, and had no reply ready. Ruth looked surprised and Grace plunged into the breach.
“Oh,” she tried to murmur off-handedly, “Barbara and Mollie and Gladys are cousins, you know.”
“And you never——” Ruth turned to Gladys, then stopped and smiled. “Well, it’s awfully jolly to have met you all in this nice, informal way. Grace has often spoken of you,” she said.