oing, then she
remembered Miss Arbuckle and the rather peculiar way the teacher had
thanked her for the return of the album.

She told the girls about it, and they listened with interest while the
boys looked as if they would like to have known what it was all about.

"Now I wonder----" Laura was beginning when Billie suddenly caught her
hand and pointed to the road.

"Look!" she cried. "It's Hugo Billings, our sad, faced man again. Oh,
girls, I wish we could do something for him."

She leaned far out the window, smiled and waved her hand to the man, who
was standing moodily by the roadside. At sight of her he straightened up
and an answering smile flashed across his thin face, making him look so
different that the girls were amazed.

But when they looked back at him again a few seconds later his smile had
gone and he was staring after them gloomily.

"Goodness, I never saw a person look so sad in all my life," murmured Vi,
as a turn in the road hid the man from view.

"Well, I have," said Billie. "And that's Miss Arbuckle!"

"There must be some sort of mystery about them both," remarked Laura.
"Maybe that man has a whole lot on his mind."

"And maybe Miss Arbuckle isn't miss at all," added Vi. "Perhaps she's
Mrs. Arbuckle and those children were her own."

Billie did not reply to this. She heaved something of a sigh. She was
unable to explain it, but she felt very sorry for both the teacher and
the queer man. Would the queer mystery ever be explained?

CHAPTER XI

AT HOME

A few hours later a train puffed noisily into the familiar station at
North Bend, and as it came to a stop three boys and three girls tumbled
down the steps of a car and literally ran into the arms of their waiting
families.

At least, the girls did; the boys considered themselves far too
dignified. However, they soon forgot dignity and everything else in a
noisy and joyful recital of all the good times they had had during their
year of absence.

Of course there had been others from the Military Academy and Three
Towers Hall on the train whose friends and relatives had also come to
meet them so that it was a very much excited crowd that wound its way up
the ordinarily quiet main street of North Bend.

Gradually the crowd separated into little groups, each going its separate
way to its separate home, and so at last, after many promises between the
boys and girl