“Exactly. Just hold your horses till my tale is told. Of course Gran held up her hands in holy horror when I suggested such a thing. The simple life has no appeal for her, and you would suppose the fisherfolk on the island went around in goatskins and armed with spears. Well, when I found she was deaf to all my blandishments I posted off to New York to my aunt, Mrs. Everleigh, who has more influence over Granny than any one else. Like the dear thing that she is, she listened to my tale of woe and promised to stand by me, so we planned out a course of action which promises to be successful if you will cooperate.” “I may be very stupid, but I still fail to see our part in it,” Miss Rindy spoke. “You will see in a minute, dear lady. There were two or three points to be settled before we could approach Granny again. We must have counter-arguments to meet hers. First, there must be some one provided to take my place, and we decided that a pretty, beguiling, and foolish little cousin, a débutante of next winter’s vintage, would be just the one, and we knew she would jump at the chance. Next, it would never do for me to go off into forest jungles and deserts wild without a proper chaperon; a cave man might grab me up at any moment and make off with me in a birch-bark canoe. Granny is still so unmodern as to believe in chaperons, you see, and she is mighty particular as to their quality. Well, we were mulling over this question when we happened to go to Mr. Barstow’s studio one afternoon. I was so full of my subject that I was ready to talk about it to every one, and I told my troubles to dear Mr. Barstow.” “Dear Don Pedro, he would be just the one you would tell them to,” commented Ellen. “I haven’t a doubt but he could point to some way out.” “He certainly did, so now it is up to you two. Oh, won’t you go with me? We could have such heavenly times, Ellen, and I am sure that invigorating air would do you a world of good, Miss Crump, make you over in fact. Please, please, don’t turn me down. I don’t mean that you are to decide at once. I shall be here till to-morrow, and you can sleep on it.” “Do tell me what Mr. Barstow said,” Ellen urged. “He sat thinking over the question when I put it to him, and all at once he looked up with that quizzical smile of his and asked: ‘What’s the matter with Ellen North and that fine cousin of hers? Why wouldn’t they be just the ones?’ I nearly fell on his neck. Then I rushed over and dragged Aunt Nell away from the people she was sitting with, and we all talked so fast that we had to begin all over again; but finally Mr. Barstow had the floor, and he proposed that I come down here and talk it over with you. He thought Mr. and Mrs. Todd might take me in for a day or two, which they have very kindly done, and that Mr. Todd would meet me, so here I am, thanks to the two blessed men.” “But are you sure your grandmother will agree?” inquired Miss Rindy with caution.