The next morning dawned bright. Shortly after breakfast, Madge set out for Stewart Island, towing Anne’s canoe behind the skiff. She had laundered the dress which had been loaned her and carried it neatly done up in paper. She would have forgotten the letter had Mrs. Brady not hurried down to the beach with it just as she was starting off.
The lake was smooth and Madge made good time over to the island. Anne had sighted her from afar and was at the water’s edge to meet her.
“Oh, you found my canoe!” she cried. “What luck! But you shouldn’t have ironed that dress. It was only an old one.”
“Here’s something more for you,” Madge declared, producing the letter. “Bill brought it from town last night.”
“Oh, thanks. Mind if I read it now?”
“Of course not.”
Madge busied herself with the skiff while her friend eagerly ripped open the long white envelope. Scarcely had her eyes swept the page when she uttered an exclamation of surprise.
“Madge, do you remember the young man who worked here on the island about a year ago? I mean Father’s laboratory assistant.”
“That queer fellow with the stoop shoulders?”
“I think he got that way from spending so much time bending over test tubes,” Anne smiled. “I never liked him very well and was glad when Father discharged him.”