last he called:

"Wait, wait, whoever you are. I'm not going to hurt you."

In another moment he had caught up with them. Oh, joy of joys, it was
Professor Green, wearing a thick gray sweater and a cap with ear muffs.
With a cry of relief, Judith flung herself on her cousin's neck while
Molly rather timidly clasped his arm. She felt she could have hugged
him, too, if he had only been a relation.

"We thought you were an escaped lunatic," she exclaimed.

"I am," he answered, "at least I've been nearly crazy trying to get news
of you." He took her hand and drew it firmly through his arm, while
Judith appropriated his other arm. "They telephoned over from Exmoor to
know if you had reached Wellington safely. We found at the village that
the car had not arrived. Then about twenty minutes ago they called us
from the car station to say that the conductor and motorman had walked
but that you had decided to remain in the car all night. I thought I had
better go over and persuade you not to freeze to death by degrees. I am
glad you decided to walk. Where are the others?"

"They have gone on by the track," answered Molly. "We slipped down the
embankment and couldn't crawl up again. Perhaps you could catch them, if
you branched off here and took the other road."

"Never mind," answered the Professor, tucking her arm more tightly
through his. "Dr. McLean can look after the others, now that his burdens
are lightened by two. I'd better see you across this skating rink. Mrs.
Murphy is up waiting for you. I stopped and told her to get hot soup and
water bottles and things ready."

"You're a dear, Cousin Edwin," exclaimed Judith. "You are always
thinking of other people."

"I expect the old doctor will be a good deal knocked up by this little
jaunt," went on the Professor, not taking the slightest notice of
Judith's expressions of gratitude, the first Molly had ever heard her
make about anything.

It was half-past two o'clock when they reached Queen's Cottage, just ten
minutes before the others arrived.

"It's a good thing you found us," Molly said to the Professor as he
helped them up the steps. "I believe we'd have been crawling over those
links another hour or so if you hadn't."

"I can never explain what made me cut across the links," he answered. "I
had my face turned toward the other road when something urged me to go
that way."

Dr. McLean always insisted that it was continuous giggling that kept
them all from free