"Well," said Betty obediently, for she had been so busy with her own
thoughts that half the persiflage and gay bantering had passed above her
head, "I was speaking of Mrs. Sanderson and her son. I thought that if we
told her we were trying to find her Willie, she might consent to stay on
with us a little longer."

"But wouldn't that be rather raising false hopes?" objected Grace. "We
haven't very much chance of really making such a promise good, you know."

"Well, but if we tried hard enough we might think of something," Betty
insisted. "We might," she added vaguely, "We might--advertise--"

"In what?" queried Amy.

"The papers, of course," Betty answered impatiently.

"Well," said Mollie, chewing down the last bit of chocolate and speaking
thoughtfully, "there may be something in your idea, at that, Betty. I
don't know about the others, but I'm with you, anyway."




CHAPTER XII

WHERE LOVE IS DEAF


"Doesn't it seem funny," Amy was saying as she daintily but thoroughly
gnawed a chicken bone, "not to have the boys with us?"