“Aren’t you Miss Dale?” he inquired, “Major Dale’s daughter?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Dorothy promptly, feeling a relief since her dear father’s name had been mentioned.
“And these other girls?” he asked pointedly.
“Friends of mine from the Glenwood Boarding School.”
“You were friends with that gypsy girl,” he said, fixing his eyes on Urania, “You know she got away—I know your folks out at the Cedars,” he went on, seeing the surprise on Dorothy’s face, “and I thought you might be able to tell me something about the girl—I’d first-rate like to find her.”
Urania turned around and almost gasped! Her eyes showed plainly her confusion, and in spite of Dorothy’s tugging at her skirt, she was in imminent danger of making her identity known. This frightened Dorothy, and, of course, the man saw at once that both girls were agitated.
Whether he had been suspicious, or whether Urania’s sudden change of attitude led to his conclusions, it was now apparent that he did suspect the identity of the girl with the big white hat turned down so closely over her brown hair.
Dorothy tried to speak, but she only succeeded in smiling faintly, and her effort to take the situation as a joke was an utter failure.
The man left his seat and stood directly in front of them.
“You don’t happen to know the runaway gypsy girl?” he asked Urania.