Page:Carroll Rankin--Dandelion Cottage.djvu/298

 272  again, and the girls meant to take no chances, so they kept still, with searching eyes glued upon Mr. Downing's countenance. All at once, they realised that they were looking into friendly eyes, and three of them jumped to the conclusion that the junior warden was not the heartless monster they had considered him.

"I came," said Mr. Downing, noticing the change of expression in Bettie's face, "to offer you, with my apologies, this key and this little document. The paper, as you will see, is signed by all the vestrymen—my own name is written very large—and it gives you the right to the use of this cottage until such time as the church feels rich enough to tear it down and build a new one. There is no immediate cause for alarm on this score, for there were only sixty-two cents in the plate last Sunday. I have come to the conclusion, young ladies, that I was over-hasty in my judgment. I didn't understand the matter, and I'm afraid I acted