"How soon will she get here?" asked Arthur in a resigned tone.

"Her father wrote that he expects to sail on the fifteenth
of October, and as he wants to have two or three days in New York
before sailing that will probably bring her here about the twelfth
or thirteenth. Not quite three weeks, you see."

"The time does seem short," said Arthur, trying to appear politely
interested.

His mother laughed. "I'll leave you to prepare your mind for this
new infliction while I write the note and do my marketing. Don't
forget that you are going to practice with the crutches as soon as
possible; I shall be so proud of you when you can walk downstairs."

Mrs. Hamilton a little later at her desk was just beginning the
pleasant task of writing to Ruth, when the sound of the doorbell
and a quick scamper of feet up the stairs made her put down her
pen with a smile. "Why, girls," she said as a trio of bright faces
appeared in the doorway. "How does it happen that you are out of
school at this hour of the day?"

"Something happened to the gas-pipes, and there was an awful smell
of gas, and all sorts of workmen walking around the building, so
we were sent home," answered the tallest of the three girls. "And
we thought we'd come in and see you for a few minutes, if you
weren't busy and didn't mind."

"I'm almost never too busy to see you and Charlotte and Dorothy,