She proved it by getting up, and the girls helped her arrange her dress, dusting it for her, and aiding her in coiling up her heavy hair.
"What lovely braids you have," observed Grace.
"Do you think so? They have made trouble enough for me."
"I suppose so much hair must be inconvenient in warm weather, but most of us would be willing to put up with it," spoke Amy.
"I didn't mean it that way. I will tell you soon. But I ought to be going."
"Then come with us," invited Betty. "We have plenty of room in the car, and we can take you to your friends, to a hotel, or anywhere you like to."
"And we can take you to our homes," added Mollie. "We have not far to go, and, as we are only touring for pleasure, we have no schedule to upset. Come with us. We have finished our ghost hunt."
"Then let us get away from here before my guardian happens to come back," suggested the girl. "I will explain all I can to you, though it is rather complicated."
"Would you mind explaining first," asked Betty with a smile, "why you were up that tree? We have all puzzled over that so much."
"I went up there to hide from my guardian, or the man who calls himself such," said the girl. "I suppose it seems strange, but really that was the only thing I could think of. And it was not hard to get up, for the branches were low. You see I had just run away from him, from this very house, when he brought me here, and said that it was to be our home."