But Arthur refused to tell. He slung the box on the crook of his stick, and led the way across the fields, smiling enigmatically at the girls' inquiries, but vouchsafing no clue to satisfy their curiosity. There was evidently some mystery afoot, and the expectation of its unravelment gave a spice of excitement to the coming visit. The box contained something nice; Peggy felt sure of that, for when Arthur gave a present he gave something worth having. How pleased Esther would be, and how embarrassed! What fun it would be to witness the presentation, and help out her acknowledgments by appropriate cheers and interjections! CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. When the vicarage was reached a reconnoitre round the garden discovered the murmur of voices in the schoolroom, and marshalled by Arthur the three visitors crept silently forward until they were close upon the window, when Eunice hung modestly in the rear, while her companions flattened their faces against the panes. A shriek of dismay sounded from within, as Mellicent dropped a work-basket on the floor and buried her face in her hands, under the conviction that the house was besieged by wild Indians, and the advance party close upon her. A smaller shriek echoed from the further end of the room where Esther stood, being pinned up in a calico lining by the hands of the local dressmaker, and the smallest shriek of all came from the region of the sewing-machine, where Mrs Asplin let the treadle work up and down by itself, and clasped her heart instead of the seam. Esther fled precipitately behind a screen, Mellicent flopped on a chair, and Mrs Asplin cried loudly: "Go away, go away. Come in, dear boy! Is it really you? What in the world do you mean by startling us like this?" "I've told you before, Arthur Saville, that it drives me crazy when people come suddenly glaring in through the window! You'll kill me some, day, or turn me into a jibbering idiot, and _then_ you'll be sorry! Front doors are made to come in by, 'specially--especially when visitors are with you!" cried Mellicent severely, and at this Mrs Asplin turned towards Eunice with her sunny, welcoming smile. "You are Miss Rollo, aren't you, dear? This bad boy had no business to bring you in here, but I've heard of you so often from Mellicent that you don't seem like a stranger. We are hard at work preparing for the wedding, so you must excuse the muddle. We are delighted to see you!" "Oh, Eunice won't mind. She has heard so much about you too, mater, that she would have been quite disappointed to have found you sitting in the drawing-room like any ordinary, commonplace person. Sorry I startled you! I wouldn't make you jibber for the world, Chubby, so I'll knock next time, to let you know I'm coming. But where's the bride? Where's the bride? Is she coming out from behind that screen, or have I to go and fetch her?"