stories about the time when she was a little girl and lived at home with
her father and mother. But she never spoke of Mr. Spenser, and Katy
never saw him except once, when she was so frightened that for several
days she dared not go near the house. At last Cecy reported that she had
seen him go off in the stage with his carpet-bag, so Katy ventured in
again. Mrs. Spenser cried when she saw her.

"I thought you were never coming any more," she said.

Katy was touched and flattered at having been missed, and after that she
never lost a day. She always carried the prettiest flowers she could
find, and if any one gave her a specially nice peach or a bunch of
grapes, she saved it for Mrs. Spenser.

Aunt Izzie was much worried at all this. But Dr. Carr would not
interfere. He said it was a case where grown people could do nothing,
and if Katy was a comfort to the poor lady he was glad. Katy was glad
too, and the visits did her as much good as they did Mrs. Spenser, for
the intense pity she felt for the sick woman made her gentle and patient
as she had never been before.

One day she stopped, as usual, on her way home from school. She tried
the side-door--it was locked; the back-door, it was locked too. All the
blinds were shut tight. This was very puzzling.

As she stood in the yard a woman put her head out of the window of
the next house. "It's no use knocking," she said, "all the folks have
gone away."

"Gone away where?" asked Katy.