The other girls plied Jane with questions, but she could say nothing, as Zan had not confided in her.
"Miss Miller, Mr. Hamilton himself answered the call, and I told him who I was and what we were doing down here.
"He said he was glad we were down; Daddy wrote him about our camp, and said he was to drop in now and then and see if we needed anything he could supply.
"I told him no, that we were doing fine, but that one of our girls must have lost herself—was she at his house?
"He didn't speak at once, then he said, 'Did she have a purple parasol like your mother's last summer?'
"'Yes, yes, that's Nita!' I cried. 'Can you bring her over—she isn't accustomed to walking very much?' And, Miss Miller, what do you think he told me?"
Zan was so angry that she almost cried as she spoke.
The Guide soothed her wisely, and said, "Go on, Zan, I am most anxious to hear the rest."
"Mr. Hamilton drove to the next town's freight station to-day to get some dog crates and he says he passed a young fellow on the road who sat in a dog-cart leaning over the side talking to a girl with a purple parasol. He says the fellow is a Military School cadet, of about sixteen, who spends his summers at his grandmother's summer place, several miles farther on from the Hamilton place. Mr. Hamilton did not wait to see what the two finally did, but he did not see either of them on his drive back from town."
Miss Miller was stunned. She stood perfectly still for a time, then said, "Zan, have you ever known Nita to show any preference for boys' company?"