Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/341

Rh “If you do not,” and Nora tried to make her voice dignified and threatening, “why we shall be obliged to—”

“Obliged to laugh,” said Arthur Weston; “indeed you will. I think that we are even with Moffit; but we must watch for them, for they ’ll probably try to slip off without  our seeing them.”

A moment later Brenda appeared, twisting her handkerchief between her fingers, while her eyes looked suspiciously red.

“The side door!” exclaimed Philip; “I never thought of that! ”

With one accord, following Philip’s example, they all ran down on the gravelled walk, just in time to see Agnes  in her fawn-colored travelling suit enter the carriage, followed by Ralph Weston, who raised his hat in a last farewell, before taking the reins from Mr. Moffit, who stood  at the horses’ head.

“Quick, Brenda, you ’ve forgotten the shoe,” but even as Julia spoke, Brenda threw a white kid shoe after the  retreating carriage. It fell far from the mark, but Philip, running nimbly, picked it up, and in a second he had sent  it with a hang against the back of the buggy.

“We did n’t accomplish so very much after all,” complained Tom Hearst, turning to Arthur Weston.

“No, Thomas was a base deceiver in making us think that they were going in the carryall. I suppose Moffit made him change. We have wasted a lot of white ribbon. I had great hopes that they would drive into Salem with those long white streamers floating in the wind.”