"I hope it will be a pleasant change for you, dear child," the mother whispered in parting from Violet, "and if you grow tired of it, you know you can come home at any time. And Edward," she added, turning to him, "I trust your sister to your care, particularly in bathing: don't let her go in without you, and don't either of you venture far out or into any dangerous spot."
"We will be very careful, mamma," they both replied, "so do not feel in the least uneasy."
"I shall owe you a grudge for this." Donald was saying in a rueful aside to Mary.
"Why, you needn't," she returned; "you can come too, if you wish, unless you object to my society."
"That wouldn't mend matters," he answered, with a glance at the younger Elsie.
"Nonsense! I've found out already that she's engaged. Didn't you know it?"
"Not I. Well, it takes a woman to find out the secrets of her sex!"
"Then you own that a woman can keep a secret?" was her laughing rejoinder. "But do tell me," in a still lower tone, "has cousin lost her husband lately?"
"Within a year, and they were devotedly attached."
"Oh poor thing! But isn't she sweet?"