others--!"

"Where is the--where is von Inwald?"

"He has gone to take the white of an egg," she replied rather haughtily.
She was too honest to evade anything, but she flushed. Of course, I knew
what he didn't--that the prince had been among the first to scurry to
the house, and that he hadn't even waited for her.

He walked to the window, as if he didn't want her to see what he thought
of that, and I saw him looking hard at something outside in the snow.
When he walked back to the fire he was smiling, and he stooped over and
poked Arabella with his finger.

"So that was it!" he said. "Full to the scuppers, poor little wretch!
Minnie, I am hoist with my own petard, which in this case was a
boomerang."

"Which is in English--" I asked.

"With the instinct of her sex, Arabella has unearthed what was meant
to be buried forever. She had gorged herself into a convulsion on that
rabbit I shot last night!"

CHAPTER XXI

THE MUTINY

They went to the house together, he carrying Arabella like a sick baby
and Miss Patty beside him. As far as I could see they didn't speak a
word to each other, but once or twice I saw her turn and look up at him
as if she was puzzled.

I closed the door and stood just inside, looking at father's picture
over the mantel. As sure as I stood there, the eyes were fixed on the
spring, and I sensed, as you may say, what they meant. I went over and
looked down into the spring, and it seemed to me it was darker than
usual. It may have smelled stronger, but the edge had been taken off my
nose, so to speak, by being there so long.

From the spring I looked again at father, and his eyes were on me
mournful and sad. I felt as though, if he'd been there, father would
have turned the whole affair to the advantage of the house, and it
was almost more than I could bear. I was only glad the old doctor's
enlargement had not come yet. I couldn't have endured having it see what
had occurred.

The only thing I could think of was to empty the spring and let the
water come in plain. I could put a little sulphur in to give it color
and flavor, and if it turned out that Mr. Pierce was right and that
Arabella was only a glutton, I could put in the other things later.

I was carrying out my first pailful when Doctor Barnes came down the
path and took the pail out of my hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Making a slide?"

"No," I said bitterly, "I am watering the flowers."

"Good!" He was n