"She went in swimmin'," Alice whispered.
And then, of all things, as Gladys Bailey would say, what did her father do but laugh! He laughed loud and long; but the others, evidently surprised, did not join him.
It was Gladys who spoke first.
"You forgot to tell your father that she went in swimmin' with boys."
"With boys!" her father echoed, and laughed harder than before.
Up-stairs, her head pressed against the window-sill, Margery could scarcely believe her ears. Did he really think it was funny? And then she had it. Her father was pretending! But that, after all, was only half a clue. Why was he pretending? Why?
He stopped laughing after a time and began putting questions to each of them in turn, until he had pieced together the whole story.
"Katherine," he asked finally, "why did you and Alice not take her with you when you went calling? If you had, this would not have happened."
"Well, you see, papa," began Katherine, "she's too little for our crowd."
"Too little? What nonsense! She's not a bit too little."