"You must have had rather hard work packing up," said Elinor sympathetically; "I suppose Angelina has been more hindrance than help." "Oh, no--she has surprised us all by taking a real interest. I asked her if she wouldn't rather have a different kind of place for the summer. 'What an idea!' she replied. 'I love hard work when I can get all the credit for it. Wild horses wouldn't keep me away from York. Besides, your mother has got so used to my Spanish flavoring that her health would suffer if I should leave.'" "She's a case," commented Elinor, "but tell me, is it true that you might have visited Mrs. Stanley at Bar Harbor this summer?" "Oh, she's papa's cousin," rejoined Martine, "and she _did_ invite me. But of course I had no intention of leaving mamma, even if I had been in the mood for a gay place like Mt. Desert. She has been growing paler and thinner, all the spring, and though she might have boarded in some quiet spot, she just couldn't have got along without me." "Of course not." "She thought I could accept the invitation for August, but this was out of the question. I doubt that I should have gone out to Cambridge to-morrow, if I hadn't seen that mother would be disappointed if I gave that up. There will be other Class Days, and I can wait. But it isn't as if I had to buy anything--a muslin that I had made in the winter is just the thing, and I haven't had to bother." "You are very sweet, Martine, about everything, and so different from what I thought of you that day we ran into each other at the car. Didn't I seem a little hateful when we were first introduced at Mrs. Weston's luncheon?" "Oh--no--only a little stiff, but that was natural, when you think of our first meeting," and Martine laughed at the remembrance. "I can't imagine you out of temper, since I have really known you." "Not even to-day?" "To-day?" "Why, I have been feeling particularly savage about my trunk. You must have noticed how I spoke to the man in the express office." "He deserved it, but really I didn't notice anything of that kind. You were really polite, considering you had lost a trunk." "It is really a loss," responded Elinor, "even to Kate, and I wish that some one could explain what happened to it." "It may simply be mislaid. Ten to one it may turn up to-morrow." "Oh, I hope not. That would be exasperating, after all the trouble we have had to-day. I would almost rather that the trunk should stay lost. Then we could bring suit for damages." "You can generally get only a hundred dollars on a single trunk, at least I remember hearing papa say that was all railroads would pay," said Martine sagely, "and what would that be among two?" "You shouldn't have put all your eggs in one basket." Elinor and Martine started at the sound of a strange voice, but looking up they saw Angelina standing at the door leading toward the dining-room. She had used a curious falsetto with which at times she liked to experiment.