ow, now, Elise, it's my own little kettle of fish, and you must keep
out of it. You see, it makes a difference who does a thing. If Ray
Rose were an intimate friend of mine, I should resent her performance
and make a fuss about it. But she is such a casual acquaintance,--why,
probably I shall never see her again after I go away from
Lakewood,--and so I consider it better judgment to ignore her silly
prank, rather than stir up a fuss about it."

"I don't agree with you, you're all wrong; but tell me the whole story.
What did she do?"

"You see, she was determined to do that hoop dance, and the only way
she could think of, to get me out of it, was to get me over to her
house and lock me up there. It was a slim chance I had of getting out,
but I managed it. She called me over by telephone, and then locked me
in her bedroom. How did she get my clothes?"

"Sent a maid over here, saying that you were at her house and wanted
your costume sent over. I thought you were helping her, in your usual
idiotic 'helping hand' way, and I sent the dress and all the
belongings."

"Well, of course, I knew nothing about all that. So, I suppose the
little minx dressed herself and put on the long cloak and walked off.
She is boss in her own home, I know that, and, as I learned later, her
father and mother were out to dinner, so she ordered the servants to
pay no attention to any call or disturbance I might make. I sized it
up, and I felt pretty sure no screaming or yelling or battering at the
door would do any good, so I pondered on a move of strategy. But I
couldn't think of anything for a long time, and had just about made up
my mind to spend the evening there, when I made one desperate attempt
and it succeeded. I wrote a note to Sarah to come over there and say
she had to give me a certain medicine at that hour, or I would be ill.
And I told her to wear a thick veil and a long cloak. She did all
this, and I just slipped into her cloak and hat and veil and came out
the door in her place, leaving her behind. They thought it was Sarah
who came out, of course."

"Fine! Patty, you're a genius! How did you get the note to Sarah?"

"Tied it to Ray's hairbrush and threw it at the feet of a young man who
was going by. On the outside I wrote, 'Please take this quickly to
Sarah Moore at George Farrington's,' and gave the address. I added,
'Hurry, as it is a matter of tremendous importance!' And I'd like to
know who that young