For a moment there was silence, and then some one said in sepulchral
tones:

"You won't ever tell?"

The girls stared at each other.

"What shall we say?" whispered Anne.

"Say 'never,'" suggested Judy, wishing she were well enough to manage
this exciting episode.

"NEVER," said the little girls all together.

There was a rustling in the hay in the loft, then cautious steps, and a
figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

At sight of it, Amelia shrieked and Nannie giggled, but Anne ran
forward with both hands out, and with her fair little face alight with
welcome.

"Why, Tommy Tolliver, Tommy Tolliver," she said, "is it really you, is
it really, really you?"




CHAPTER VII