surprise. On the whole, she was very well satisfied.

As they drove up to the new home, however, what was their astonishment to
find it closed! There was not even a window open, or any other sign that
the house was inhabited. Dotty ran to every door, and shook it.

"Why, papa, papa, do you s'pose there's anybody dead?"

"The probability is, Alice, that they have gone away. I will run over to
Mrs. Prosser's, and see if she knows anything about it."

Mrs. Prosser was the nearest neighbor on the left. Her little
daughter came to the door in tears, having hurt herself against a
trunk in the hall.

"Miss Carrie," said Mr. Parlin, "can you tell me where Mrs. Parlin and
the rest of the family are gone?"

"Yes, Caddy Prosser, the house is shut up," added Dotty, "and I'm afraid
they're dead."

"I don't know where they're gone, nor anything," sobbed Carrie. "I
didn't know the trunk was in the entry, and I came so fast I fell
right over it."

"I am very sorry you are hurt," said Mr. Parlin. "Is your mother at
home?"

"No, sir, she isn't; her trunk came, but she didn't."

There was no information to be obtained at the Prossers'; so Mr. Parlin
went to Mr. Lawrence's, the nearest neighbor on the right, making the
same inquiries; but all he learned was, that a carriage had been seen
standing at Mr. Parlin's door; who had gone away in it nobody could tell.

Dotty paced the pavement with restless steps, her mind agitated by a
thousand wild fancies: Grandma Read never went anywhere; perhaps she was
locked up in the house, and Zip too. Norah was at Cape Elizabeth; she had
walked out to see her friend Bridget, the girl with red hair; and, just
as likely as not, she didn't ever mean to come back again. Mother, and
Susy, and Prudy had gone to Willowbrook, to grandpa Parlin's--of course
they had,--and left grandma Bead all alone in the house, with nothing to
eat. How strange! How unkind!

"Grandma!" she called out under Mrs. Read's window.

There was no answer. Dotty fancied the white curtain moved just a little;
but that was because a fly was balancing himself on its folds. Grandma
was not there, or, if she was, she must be very sound asleep. O, dear,
dear! And here were Dotty and her father come home a day earlier than
they were expected; and instead of giving the family a joyful surprise,
they had a surprise themselves, only not a joyful one, by any means. How
impolite it was in everybody, how unkind, to go away! At first, D