presented the cousin to her.
He was particularly fine-looking and attractive but she was not startled
at that. He was the young man who had accosted her that day on the
street and apologized by saying he had mistaken her for his cousin,
Helen.

"You remember me, I see, Miss Alden. You must have thought I was rude,
but I was confident that you were Helen. I had not seen her for three
months."

"I am glad that I met you so that I can explain to Aunt Debby," said
Hester naively. Then observing his look of surprise, she added, "She
would not believe that you had really made a mistake. She thought you
did it just to annoy me."

"How could she?" cried Helen with a show of feeling. "Cousin Rob--."

"Go slowly, Cousin," laughed the young man. "You must remember that I
was a stranger to Miss Alden and her aunt. They were fully justified in
believing that I was rude."

"I did not," said Hester. "I saw you and I knew that you had really
mistaken me."

"How could your Aunt Debby think of such a thing? Didn't she also see
Rob?" asked Helen.

"I did not believe you could show such a spirit," laughed Hester. "You
are always so calm."

"When things touch myself, but not when they touch my friends," said
Helen.

"Please calm yourself, Helen. You know we made a compact this very
morning and promised never to quarrel or be angry with each other."

"The same old school-girl fashion," said Robert Vail. "If I am a good
prophet, you'll be tearing each other's hair before the day is over."

"Why did Aunt Harriet not come?" asked Helen, abruptly changing the
subject of conversation.

"She went on a little trip into Virginia," he replied. Then observing
the anxious look which came to Helen's face, he continued, "We tried to
persuade her not to go, but she said this might be a real clue and she
could not be satisfied to remain home. Father would have insisted, for
mother is really worn out, but she was so anxious to go that she and
father went off last night."

[Illustration: "YOU REMEMBER ME, I SEE, MISS ALDEN."--_Page 149._]

"Was there anything new, or merely the same old story as before?" asked
Helen.

"Who can tell? You know Rosa's mother had been a house-servant in
Virginia and Rosa had a host of relatives there. Mrs. Mader--you
remember the Doctor Mader who sometimes attends mother? Well, Mrs. Mader
had been West. There she made the acquaintance of a southern woman who
talked much of a Rosa Williams, who did some work