“Do you remember,” I asked, “what you told me your father used to say when he told you a secret?”
“Rather!” said Judy. “He always says, ‘Kids, this is confidential.’ Why?”
“Because I’m saying it now,” I said. “I have something to tell you, and—‘Kids, it is confidential.’ Is it all right?”
“O-oh, Miss Earle, you’ve got a secret! ’Course it’s all right. Isn’t it, Jack?”
“Cross-our-hearts,” said Jack solemnly. “Shall we swear a Hearty Oath?”
“Your word is good enough for me,” I answered. “But it has to be a very solemn word, because this is a big secret, and it isn’t even mine.”
“We’ll never tell,” Judy said. “Jack and I never tell anything, you know. Father understands that. Oh, Miss Earle, go on, or I’ll bust!”
“You two have got to help me to-night,” I said. “You have the biggest job that has ever come into your lives. And then you have to keep quiet about it for ever and ever.”
“And ever!” said Judy. “Quick, Miss Earle!”
“I can’t tell you all the details, because they are not mine to tell,” I said. “But your mother has a friend who is hiding from some people who want to find him—why they want him is no business of ours. We will call this friend Mr. Smith. He is living on Shepherd’s Island.”