“Were you such a very giddy girl, Miss Zillah?” asked Carin in amusement, casting an eye at Miss Zillah’s staid frock and prim little curls, and thinking how amusing it was that such a settled little person should be able to think of herself as adventurous. “Not on the outside,” returned Miss Zillah. “When I was young I had a very great sense of duty, and there were many opportunities for me to exercise it. But do you know, I’m kind of worn out doing my duty, and I’d give anything if I were going away on some such jaunt as we went on last year.” She looked at the girls appealingly, and then concluded with a shy little smile, “I suppose you think I’m a dreadfully silly old woman.” But Carin had clasped Azalea’s arm in a fierce grasp. “The perfect chaperon,” she whispered, “made to order!” “Found in fifteen minutes,” whispered back Azalea. Miss Zillah, who caught their rapid exchange of confidence, looked perplexed. “Oh, don’t think us rude, Miss Zillah,” pleaded Carin. “We’re not; we’re merely excited. You see, we’ve just made a discovery.” “Have you, my dears?” asked Miss Zillah. “Come sit down in the arbor and tell me about it.” “I’m afraid we’re almost too elated to sit down,” laughed Azalea. “You see, what we have discovered, Miss Zillah, is you.” “But it’s a long time since you landed on my continent,” said Miss Zillah. “Yes, but when we first saw you we made the same mistake that Columbus did. We thought you were some one else.” “Who did you think I was? Who am I?” laughed the nice old lady, glad of an excuse to be talking happy nonsense. “Why, we thought you were just Annie Laurie’s aunt,” explained Azalea, “but now we’re wondering if you’re not our chaperon. We’re going up to Sunset Gap again; this time to teach school. And we _must_ have a perfect chaperon, else we’ll not be allowed to go.” “And you’re she!” cried Carin, flinging her arms impulsively about Miss Zillah’s soft neck. “You know you are! Say you’ll come, Miss Zillah, and then we can run back and tell our people that everything is all right.” CHAPTER II PASSENGERS FOR BEE TREE Three weeks later there was a notable gathering at the railroad station at Lee. The Carsons were there, the Paces, the McBirneys, including Jim, in a new straw hat, Dick Heller, just up from the Rutherford Academy, Sam Disbrow, happy now and full of wholesome activity, Hi Kitchell and his sister, and ever so many others, some black and some white. The baggage man was oppressed with a sense of the importance of the luggage he was to put on the train, for it included, as he realized full well, the summer outfit of Miss Zillah Pace and her charges. That is, if Azalea and Carin, so important and full of business, so suddenly grown up as it seemed, and their own mistresses, could possibly be looked upon as “charges.” “Wire Mr. Summers if anything goes wrong, Carin,” Mr. Carson was commanding. “Mind you write me everything—simply everything,” warned Annie Laurie.