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But Peace had reached the door in a bound and with a cry of delight dragged forth the embarrassed strangers, exclaiming, "It's Henderson and Lorene, grandpa! They look 'xactly like their picture, don't they, only not quite so grumpy? Grandma said I better write Lorene and I did and I invited her to come up for my party. That's how they happen to be here.
Now we'll get acquainted with our relations, won't we? I invited Belle, too. Why didn't she come?" "Belle and mamma went to Evanston last week," Lorene explained bashfully. "And they let you come all alone?" "They don't know yet that we aren't in Chicago," chuckled Henderson. "Dad let us come. It's only a twelve-hour ride and we don't change cars at all. Pooh!
Cherry and Lorene were fast asleep. Downstairs the carols ceased, the wail of violin and guitar died away, and the murmur of voices was again borne to the straining ears of the conspirators in the flag room. "Do you s'pose they have begun tableauing?" asked Allee, after what seemed an eternity of listening. "Not yet; they have lights. There, that must be one.
"Martindale is too quiet for Mrs. Meadows. Ned sent Henderson and Lorene up here for a month last summer, but Belle has never been our guest. Grandpa and I have visited them twice in Chicago, but that is all we have ever seen them." "I wish they lived nearer," sighed Peace.
"We never had any cousins of our own, but maybe they'd adopt us too, like you did; then we'd know what it feels like to have real relations." "Suppose you write Lorene. I think she would enjoy getting letters from a little girl so near her own age." "That would be nice, s'posing I liked to write letters," Peace assented, "but I don't.
Henderson and the girls were consumed with curiosity to know the result of the interview, and their amazement knew no bounds when the disgraced duet vanished within their quiet retreat and turned the key in the lock. After waiting in vain fifteen minutes for them to reappear Lorene crossed the hall and knocked timidly at the closed door. There was no answer.
Strange as it may seem, neither child felt any ill effects from that midnight escapade, but the next morning they awoke as chipper and gay as if there were no such thing as after-Christmas feelings. They even forgot the lonely vigil in the stable in their dismay at the discovery that Lorene had slept all night with Cherry instead of returning to their room as she had promised to do.
"We can hear them after we're in bed," said Peace, rubbing her eyes which were growing very heavy in spite of her efforts to stay awake. "Gussie promised to leave our doors open until time for the folks to go home. It's the charades I wanted to see." "Charades?" questioned Lorene. "Were they going to have charades, too?" "She means tableaux," explained Cherry. "She's crazy about them.
They make me cough too much the lights they use, I mean. Come on, Lorene, sleep with me tonight until Hope comes up to bed. Do, please! It isn't fair for you three to stick in here and leave me all by myself in the other room." Lorene glanced hesitatingly from one sister to the other, and seeing no opposition, answered, "All right, Cherry, I'll stay with you till the folks go.
Campbell had gone in search of his wife the minute he saw that the children were sufficiently introduced. "Hang your coat on the hall-tree, Henderson; and Lorene, bring your things in here. It's pretty near lunch time already, and then we must dress for the party."
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