"Where was the baby when she fell? can you tell me that?" asked his father.
"On the veranda, sir: so the servants told me."
"Which of them saw it?"
"Aunt Dinah, Agnes, Aunt Dicey,—nearly all the women, I believe, sir."
The captain mused a moment.
"Was Lulu there?" he asked.
"Yes, sir; and papa,—if you must know just how it happened,—I think she could tell you all about it as well as anybody else, or maybe better. And you know she always speaks the truth."
"Yes," the captain said, as if considering the suggestion: "however, I prefer to hear the story first from some one else."
He passed on through the upper hall and down the stairs, then on out to the veranda, where he found a group of servants—of whom Aunt Dicey was one—excitedly discussing the very occurrence he wished to inquire about.
They did not share the reluctance of Violet and Max, but answered his questions promptly, with a very full and detailed account of the affair.