later they were busy at the long table, and the Imp again settled on the couch, apparently deep in a book. It was Sue who looked up after a while, to find her eyeing them with the pleased, quiet, provoking smile whose meaning they had come to know so well. The desire to investigate its cause proved, as usual, irresistible.

"What are you grinning at, Bobs?" Sue demanded. "You look as pleased as Punch. Anything happened?" It was well always to placate her by appearing agreeable.

"Oh, nothing special!" she replied, in a manner that made them perfectly certain there was something very special. "I happened to notice a while ago that an automobile drove up to Louis's gate, and that Miss Yvonne got out and began to give the chauffeur a regular tongue-lashing in French, because he'd driven up from the station over the joltiest road, instead of taking the smooth one. He doesn't understand French, so he didn't in the least get what she was driving at. It made me laugh."

"But what under the sun was Miss Yvonne coming up from the station in an automobile for?" Carol exclaimed. "She hasn't been away. She hasn't even been to Bridgeton, for I've seen her around early this afternoon. She always walks up from the village. You must be crazy."

"She walked down to the village about four o'clock," the Imp informed them. "I saw her start off. And I guess she had good reason to come back in an auto." The Imp went on reading after this, just as if she hadn't any idea that she was driving them wild.

"Well, what was the reason?" inquired Sue, trying to look only mildly interested. "Was she ill, or did she have a lot of bundles to carry, or was she in a great hurry?"

"I'll tell you the reason," answered the Imp, "if you'll give me that nice, fat, new blank-book you bought the other day. It's worth it, too."

"I'll do nothing of the sort!" Sue cried indignantly. "I have a special use for that book," as a matter of fact, she was going to re-copy her journal in it, "and I'll find out some other way."

"You won't find out anything before tomorrow afternoon, probably," the Imp returned, "for Louis isn't going to school. He told me so."

Sue made up her mind that she wasn't going to give in to her, but Carol broke up that intention.

"Oh, give it to her!" she whispered. "I've another just as good that you can have. And I'm wild to hear what's up across the 

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