Dorothy pushed the napkin from her eyes, and raised her arm to invite her brother"s kiss.
"Poor, dear Doro!" he murmured, pressing his cheek to her hot brow. "I am sorry for you--every one is," and he kissed her again. "But I have to hurry. Aunt Libby may come back."
He was looking for something in his blouse.
"I had a note from Tavia," he said. "She has gone away--"
"Gone away!" gasped the sick girl.
"Oh, only for a little while. Where is that note!"
The boy unb.u.t.toned his waist, he even shook it out straight from the string, but no note was to be found in its folds.
"I could not have lost it!" he said, now quite alarmed that the note should have gotten out of his possession.
"What was it about?" asked Dorothy.
"Why--about--about why she went away," stammered the boy, helplessly.
"Don"t you know what was in it?"
"No, it was sealed, and no one but you was to open it. Where could I have dropped it? I had it--let me see."
The fear that he had dropped the missive where it might be picked up by those not in sympathy with Tavia, and her troubles, now troubled Joe sorely. He had promised the girl, most particularly, that he would deliver the note to his sister that night, and he waited at Dorothy"s door, risking the displeasure of Aunt Libby in keeping that promise.
But now the very worst thing had happened--the note was lost!
"Never mind," whispered Dorothy, "perhaps you will find it in your jacket. I am sure she only said good-bye; there could not have been anything so very important in it."
"But if any of the others should get it," he sighed. "They could find out where she went, and she most particularly wanted to hide for a few days."
"Hide!"
"Yes, she told me she was sure Sarah would wake up in a few days and make a "clean breast of it." Tavia declared she had done nothing wrong herself, and that she was not afraid of anybody, but, she said, there was going to be trouble, and she never ran into trouble when she could run the other way."
"Well, dear," said the sister, "you had better go to bed now. I am so tired and I feel a little like sleeping. If you find the note, bring it to me in the morning; if you do not find it, there is no need to worry.
Tavia will be back to see me as soon as she hears I am sick," and, giving the boy a good night kiss, Dorothy closed her eyes, while Joe crept out of the room as noiselessly as he had entered it.
CHAPTER X
APPLE BLOSSOM MAGIC
Two long, dreary days had pa.s.sed. Dorothy was well again, but, acting upon the advice of Miss Ellis, she remained away from school, to grow strong and take a little rest in the fresh air; to be out of doors as much as possible, the teacher said.
Alice had been to see Dorothy, and had a.s.sured her that "every thing was all right," even the misconduct of Alice in "talking back" had been forgiven, the girl herself declared.
But there was no explanation offered as to the accident to Sarah Ford.
That was still a mystery to the school girls. Neither had Tavia returned to Dalton. She was visiting her aunt in Rochester Mrs. Travers announced.
Major Dale was at his office again, and the boys were not yet home from school, although the dismissal hour had pa.s.sed.
There was a rush through the vines at the side of the porch--the next moment Tavia had Dorothy in her arms.
"You poor dear!" she exclaimed between her kisses. "To think that you have been sick all alone--without me!"
Dorothy leaned back in her chair--happy.
Tavia was not so much larger or older than she, but just at that moment she came like one all powerful; Tavia had such a way of being and doing.
"And all on my account," went on Tavia. "I declare you have gotten thin," and she spanned the bare wrist of Dorothy lovingly. "You never wrote, of course, as I asked you to."
The lost note! Perhaps other important matters had been overlooked in its disappearance.
"Is Sarah able to play leap-frog yet?" went on Tavia facetiously. "I hear Squire Sanders has been inquiring for me--just me, Tavia Travers.
Ahem! Also my goodness me! Sakes alive! If I had only known the worthy squire wished to hold converse with this--me, you know, I certainly should have postponed my vacation. Who knows what I have missed?"
Dorothy"s face showed how pleased she was; it was so good to hear Tavia rattle on that way. As Ralph Willoby had said, her heart was right, and so she made few mistakes where love could be counted on as her guide.
Tavia was stroking Dorothy"s head affectionately. The two girls sat on the rustic bench, Dorothy with her head resting upon the other"s shoulder.
"I made a discovery in Rochester," said Tavia, when she had exhausted every possible point, covering the sickness of her friend, the fainting in school and all that preceded and followed that occurrence. "Yes, I found out that a woman there, who did washing for my aunt, is named Burlock, and that she has been deserted by her husband--"
"Has she a daughter?" interrupted Dorothy.
"I don"t know about that. Aunt Mary said she was such a strange woman, all the time moving, and no one ever could find out just where her rooms were. The way one had to do, to get her to do washing, was to apply to the Charity Bureau."
"But the Bureau must have her address," said Dorothy much interested in the story.
"Well, Aunt Mary said they could not keep track of her either. They know she is a good honest woman, who seems always to be in some trouble--looking for her husband, of course. I made up my mind that the man she is looking for is your friend Miles. Have you seen him lately?"
"No," replied Dorothy, thoughtfully.
"And I"ve got more news," went on Tavia, "Miss Ellis has planned a picnic for Monday. She is going to take our cla.s.s to Glen Haven Falls.
Do get strong and come, if you don"t go I will not."
"Oh, I am sure I will be all right by that time," answered Dorothy, "in fact I am well now. I am only staying out of school because Miss Ellis thought it best. I wonder, Tavia, how we could ever think her unfair.
She is the nicest woman--why, when she called she brought me jelly, and one of her splendid roses that she prizes so much. I felt almost guilty to have spoken of her, as I did, about the procession on Memorial Day."
"Well, she has not brought me jelly or roses yet," replied Tavia, "and I hardly think she would, even had I the good fortune to be sick in bed. Yes, I mean it! I would like to see what would happen if I took sick. But no danger. Aunt Mary said she would rather feed two men than give me what I call enough. It is not really enough, you know, but I call it that," and she stretched out on the bench to show how "deliciously lazy" common health makes a girl.
"You certainly do your appet.i.te justice," said Dorothy laughing. "Aunt Libby says it"s one thing to eat, and another thing to make your eating "tell." Now, you make your food--"
""Tell." Certainly I do, and make it "tell" out loud too. I weigh--how much do you think?"
"About ninety?"