n a strained manner. "It's a
great relief. You know, half the time, I think the girls believed I
_was_ guilty."

"Why Phil Gordon! What an idea!" exclaimed Kit Patten. "We all stood
by you to a man! Every single moment you were backed by the
Merriweather Girls! And you know it!"

"Yes, I guess I do. You are friends worth having, but it all looked so
bad for me that I wouldn't have blamed you in the least."

"We didn't doubt you for a single minute!" exclaimed Shirley.

"You should have heard Bet defending you to that dumb detective, Amos
Longworth!" cried Joy.

Bet could laugh now as she recalled the conversation. Her relief was
great, especially as Colonel Baxter had plead for Peter Gruff and he
was to go free, on the promise that he would leave the village and
never come back.

As the group left the shop, Bet caught Phil by the arm.

"Phil, I must talk to you alone."

"All right. Let the others go on," suggested the boy. "We'll walk
slowly."

Colonel Baxter turned and saw his daughter and knew that she was making
a clean breast of her suspicions against her friend. He smiled and
spoke to the other girls. "Come on Kit, we'll take you home first.
You're the nearest!"

When a short distance was between them, Bet suddenly caught Phil's arm.
"Phil, I must tell you that, since Saturday when I found the fan, I
thought you had taken it."

Phil stopped short. The color had left his face. "Bet! How could
you!" There was a real hurt in his voice. "I thought you knew me
better than that."

"I did, Phil. When I finally showed Dad the evidence against you I
made him promise not to believe that you did it, even when things
looked bad."

"But what was the evidence against me, Bet? I don't understand."

"The fan was wrapped in your handkerchief!"

"Of course it was. I forgot that until this minute. I was afraid the
fan would get dirty so I wrapped it in my handkerchief."

"And Phil, I'd have known it was that way, if I hadn't been so terribly
worried."

"How did the other girls feel about it when you told them?"

"Oh I wouldn't tell them. I hid the handkerchief. No one knows about
it except me and Dad."

"Bet, you're a sport! I like you! Now, forget that you ever blamed
me, and don't feel badly about it."

They hurried ahead to catch up with the others and all met at Kit's
gate.

"Isn't it a wonderful night!" Bet exclaimed suddenly, looking up into
the sky. "Why, I never saw so m