"He said he'd go up and see."
"Hm—m—"
Mrs. Caukins turned a rather white face to Aileen; the two, looking into each other's eyes, read there a common fear.
"Perhaps you'll take the jelly over for me, Aileen; I'll just step to the back door and holler to 'Lias to bring in the collie and the hound—'t isn't always safe to let the dogs out after dark if there should happen to be anything stirring in the quarry woods."
"I'll go," said Aileen. She went into the pantry to get the glass of jelly.
"We'll go with you, we won't mind a bit with you or Luigi," chorussed the twins.
"You don't go one step," said their mother, entering at that moment from the kitchen, and followed by the two dogs; "you'll stay right where you are, and what's more, you'll both go to bed early to make you remember that I mean what I say about your being out so long another time after sundown—no good comes of it," she muttered.
The twins knew by the tone of her voice that there was no further appeal to be made.
"You can wash up the dishes while Aileen's gone; my head is so bad.—Don't be gone too long, Aileen," she said, going to the door with her.
"I sha'n't stay unless I can do something—but I'll stop a little while with Ellen, poor girl; she must be tired of all this excitement, sitting there alone so much as she has this last week."