Elizabeth found her brother at the top of the stairs.
"Come down," she said. "Aunt Caroline wants you."
Without a word he brushed past her and went to the library. He was too angry to speak. Miss Herrick had seated herself in a high-backed chair, which had the appearance of being a throne of justice, while she herself looked sufficiently stern and forbidding to cause the stoutest heart to quail. Neither she nor her sister gave Valentine the slightest sign of greeting. The boy might have been an absolute stranger to them.
Miss Herrick motioned to her niece to come to her side, but Elizabeth did not heed her. She had followed Valentine into the room, and she now stood beside him.
"What have you to say for yourself?" asked their aunt, after a pause which to the two culprits seemed hours long.
"Nothing," said Valentine.
"You mean that you have no excuse to offer?"
There was no answer.
"Unless you explain fully why you are here and why you crept into the house in this underhand manner, I will telegraph at once to your uncle and aunt. Perhaps they will be able to account for your conduct."
"They don't know anything about it," Val blurted out at last.