's the door-bell!" as a sharp peal rang through the house.
"It may be one of the detectives."

"A gentleman to see you in the parlor, sir," said the maid a moment
later, as she brought in a card.

Uncle John glanced at the card, and then, uttering an exclamation of
surprise, passed it over to his wife, and, jumping up hastily, left the
room.

"Is it the chief of the detectives?" asked Laura, animatedly.

"It isn't a detective at all; it's Dr. Phillips."

"You don't mean _the_ Dr. Phillips,--_Bernard_ Phillips?"

"Yes."

"How strange, and at this hour in the morning! It must be something
about Thanksgiving exercises," interposed Maud.

"But we're not _his_ parishioners. We don't go to _his_ church!"

"Oh, dear!" cried Mary; "I'm _so_ disappointed. I did hope it was the
detective bringing Ally back."

"Kate!" called Uncle John's voice here, "will you come into the parlor?"
and Mrs. Fleming, obeying this call, found herself a minute after
exchanging greetings with the unexpected visitor.

"I want you to tell her, Doctor, just what you've told me exactly,"
said Uncle John. "It's about Ally, my dear," to his wife. "She's found,
and--and--"

"She is at my house," took up the Doctor; and then he told of the little
girl who had come to his house the night before, of her grievous
disappointment, and the accident that had befallen her,--an accident
that had robbed her of consciousness for a time, and from which she had
only sufficiently recovered within the last few hours to answer the
questions that were put to her in regard to her relations, that steps
might be taken to restore her to them.

"And she is seriously hurt,--she couldn't come with you?" broke in Aunt
Kate, breathlessly.

"No, she was not seriously hurt," he assured her; and then came that
most delicate and difficult part of the Doctor's task,--to tell, in what
gentle phrase he could, that this wilful child refused to accompany him;
that she had taken a foolish fancy into her head that her relations did
not care for her,--a fancy that had been strengthened into positive
belief when she failed to find her uncle at the station, and had
suggested to her a wild little plan of going away from them altogether,
into some orphans' home that she had heard of, where she was sure a
place could be found for her. Very gentle, indeed, was the phrasing of
all this,--so gentle and full of sweet human consideration for
everybody's shortcomings and mistakes that Aunt