"Defend yourself," exclaimed Alice contemptuously, "against a poor, helpless little creature no larger than a kitten! You should be driven away from this hotel; you shall be, if I have anything to say about it! In fact you must leave here at once, or I shall go myself! That is what I am going to tell my father as soon as I see him." "And when do you expect to see him?" "As soon as he returns." "Really? Not until then? Do you know that I feel quite sorry for you, Miss Bradley?" She entered the hotel and went at once to her room, and when Dick knocked at her door a few moments later she refused to open it, telling him to wait for her on the front veranda. Dick returned reluctantly to his friends; for once he agreed with them. Lola's brutality was beyond all excuse. He was a kind-hearted fellow, and the sight of the little girl's sorrow over the death of her favorite had moved him deeply. He found it hard to forgive Lola; he had made excuses for her times enough, but there had been something in the horror of this last scene difficult to forget. He found Bob and Mrs. Harlan waiting on the veranda, and he knew by the way they looked at him that they had made up their minds to some definite action. "Dick," said Mrs. Harlan, as soon as he was within hearing, "we've had enough, Bob and I; we're through!" "Now, Madge----" he began soothingly. "No, Dick, we like you, but we've had enough. We are going to New York to-night. You can't say we haven't stood for a lot, but this thing has made me sick. The girl is crazy, or worse, and life's too short to take a chance on what she'll do next." "You are going to leave me?" "Yes." "How about it, Bob?" "Well, Dick, I'm no quitter, but for me it's 'goodnight, nurse.'" "It's no business of mine, I suppose, Dick," Mrs. Harlan said, after a moment of awkward silence, "but we've been rather good friends for a long time. I wish you'd come with us." "And leave Lola?" "Beat her to it; she'll leave you, if you don't." "I--I love her, Madge." "I know--well, good-bye, Dick; I'm going to pack." "Good-bye, Madge; I'll see you again before you go." Mrs. Harlan left them quickly; she knew that she was going to cry in another minute. She was quite aware that no woman of her age could afford to be seen in tears, and Bob had a particular hatred for anything of the sort. She went to her room and did her packing, then decided to go and offer to help Bob with his things. As she went down the hall she noticed that the door of Lola's room was open, and as she glanced in quickly she saw with surprise that Lola's trunks were locked and that the room was empty. She entered quickly and looked about; Lola had gone; she saw that at a glance. Her hand-bag was missing, her toilet articles put away; nothing was in sight but the two locked trunks. She had bolted. "A good thing, too," she thought bitterly to herself, but she knew that she must hurry and let Dick know.