ie, however, cut into the explanation he was trying to make, and now
her bewilderment was as great as his had been at the first.

"But Dr. Plumstead is our father, and we have come from England to live
with him," she cried, and then stood staring at the man with
ever-growing dismay.

CHAPTER XVI

The Next Thing to be Done

The man stepped forward then and laid a kindly hand upon her arm.

"Shall we go into the house and see if we can get to the bottom of the
mystery?" he asked in such a kind tone that poor, bewildered Nealie gave
way before it and suffered him to lead her into the house with which
they had made so free, believing it to be their father's home, while the
others trooped after them and gathered round the chair in which the man
who called himself Dr. Plumstead had seated her.

"Nealie, Nealie, come quick, my head is on fire!" called Rupert from the
next room, his voice rising to a shriek.

"Who is that?" exclaimed the doctor, looking, if possible, more
astonished than before.

"It is my eldest brother. He is very ill, and when we reached here he
was so bad that we carried him in from the wagon and put him to bed; but
we did not know that we had no right here," said Nealie, her voice
quavering a little, although she held her head at its proudest angle and
tried to look as defiant as possible.

"I will see him," said the doctor quietly, as she jumped up to go to
Rupert, and then he passed into the bedroom with her; but, finding it in
darkness, came back for the lamp, and, with a word of excuse to Sylvia
for leaving her without a light, picked it up and disappeared with it
into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

"Sylvia, if that is my father I don't like him at all. Why, he never
even looked at me; there might as well have been no Ducky!" cried the
poor little maiden, who keenly resented being ignored in such a fashion.

"That is not our father at all. Why, it is only a young man; but why he
is here posing as Dr. Plumstead is more than I can imagine, and, oh!
where can our dear father be?" said Sylvia, who was on the verge of
tears, for the day had been a trying one on account of Rupert's illness,
and, as they all agreed, the home-coming was just horrid.

"Buck up, old girl, it is never so bad that it might not be worse!"
exclaimed Rumple in a nervous tone, for well he knew that if Sylvia
broke down in miserable tears Ducky would at once join in, followed by
Billykins, who only ra