CHAPTER VII.
THE REGARD-RING.
Mrs. Clifford wondered why her daughter should return from a picnic so eager for supper.
"Why, ma, we lost every single thing we carried to eat."
"Lost it! What, not all your five baskets?"
"Yes, ma," replied Grace, uneasily; "that's the solemn truth."
Mrs. Clifford was naturally surprised.
"But, ma, it's a secret. Don't ask me to break my promise, please.
Some time, may be, I'll tell you. I will when I can."
At the tea-table, Horace's curiosity was very active. He wanted to know where the girls spread out their picnic, what games they played, and would have gone on with his trying questions if Mrs. Clifford had not kindly come to her daughter's relief, and turned the boy's attention to something else. Grace was grateful to her mother, but a sense of guilt weighed heavily on her mind. She had sunk very low in her own esteem, and envied little Horace the innocent frankness with which he dared look people in the face.
Added to these twinges of conscience, Grace was in a state of wretched doubt regarding Cassy. What charm would be left in this bleak world, she thought, if this only friend should prove false!