“Yes, yes, how could you? Who was your friend?”
“Cordie.”
“Oh! Cordie? Was she in danger?” the lady exclaimed excitedly. “Where is she? I must go to her at once!”
“Here! Here I am, Auntie!” cried an excited and tremulous young voice. The next moment little Cordie was enfolded in the arms of the Mystery Lady, Spirit of Christmas. And this lady was also Miss Diurno, the great virtuoso, and Cordie had called her Auntie!
* * * * * * * *
At exactly a half hour before midnight on this most exciting Christmas Eve, four people sat at a round table in the Butler House. There was a distinguished looking lady, a young man with a bump on his head that made his hair stand up in a circle, a young lady of college age, and a girl in her teens. They were the Mystery Lady, Laurie Seymour, Lucile and Cordie.
Ice cream and cakes had been served; coffee was on the way. Laurie had finished explaining to Miss Diurno the ancient custom of some long forgotten land, that of answering, truthfully, three questions round.
“But Laurie, old dear,” she protested, “why should I ask three questions of you? I already know far too much about you for my own good peace of mind; and as for Cordie, I fancy I know more about her than she knows about herself. I move we amend the custom a little. How would it do to allow our friend Lucile to ask all the questions—three around for each of us?”
“Oh! That would be darling!” exclaimed Lucile, fairly leaping from her chair. “You are all so very, very mysterious. There are so many, many things I’d like to know.”
“Agreed!” exclaimed Laurie.