"Barbara?" It was Miriam, calling from upstairs.
"In just a minute, Aunty. Excuse me, please—I'll come right back."
She was scarcely out of the room before Eloise leaned over to Allan, her face alight with eager questioning. "You think—?"
Willing to Try
"I don't know," he returned, in a low tone. "It depends on the hardness of the muscles and several other local conditions. Of course it's impossible to tell definitely without a thorough examination, but I've done it successfully in two adult cases, and have seen it done more than a dozen times. I'd be very willing to try."
"Oh, Allan," whispered Eloise. "I'm so glad."
Barbara's padded crutches sounded softly on the stairs as she came down. Eloise went to the window and studied the horse attentively, though he was not of the restless sort that needs to be tied.
While she was watching, Ambrose North came around the base of the hill, crossed the road, and opened the gate. He had been to his old solitude at the top of the hill, where, as nowhere else, he found peace. While he was talking with the visitors, Miriam went out, taking the neatly-packed suit-cases, one at a time, and put them into the buggy.
"Mr. North," said Doctor Conrad, "while these girls are chattering, will you go for a little drive with me?"