“Then I suppose I’ll have to leave her here till we come back; and do you think any of the servants can be trusted to take good care of her and not let her get lost in the woods, papa?” asked the little girl in tones quivering with emotion.
“If you will trust me to take care of her she can go home with us in the yacht and live at Ion till you come for her,” said Zoe. Then, turning to Ned, who was there with his pet: “And I make you the same offer for your Tee-tee,” she added, “for, of course, if Elsie’s can’t be trusted to go to California, neither can yours.”
“Thank you, Aunt Zoe,” both children answered, but in tones that told of regret that even for a time they must resign the care of their pets to another.
“And we’ll have Tiny and Tee-tee in the yacht with us. How nice that will be!” exclaimed little Eric Leland. “They are fine, amusing little fellows, and you may be sure, Elsie and Ned, that we will take good care of them.”
“And be willing to give them back to us when we get home?” asked Elsie.
“Honest enough to do so, I hope, whether we’re willing or not,” laughed Eric.
“Yes, of course we would,” said his sister, Alie, “for we are honest folks; but I’m glad we can have the cute little monkeys with us even for awhile.”
“On the yacht you will, but I think we’ll have them at Ion after we get home,” said Lily Travilla, the little daughter of Edward and Zoe, “because it’s papa and mamma who have promised to take care of them.”
“Yes,” said Elsie, “and I’m sure Uncle Edward and Aunt Zoe will be good to them—so good that I’m most afraid they’ll grow fonder of them than of Ned and me.”
“Oh, no, I don’t think there is any danger of that,” said Zoe, “and if they should, you can soon win their hearts back again by your love and kindness.”