“What’s the matter with that child? What have you been doing to her?” “Why, Aggie! You know I wouldn’t do anything to her,” declared Tess, a little hurt by the implied accusation. “Of course you haven’t, dear,” said Ruth, soothing the sobbing Dot. “Tell us about it.” “Dot’s afraid—the house is so big—and the doors rattle,” said Tess. “Ugh! it _is_ kind of spooky,” muttered Aggie. “O-o-o!” gasped Tess. “Hush!” commanded Ruth, quickly. “What’s ‘spooky’?” demanded Dot, hearing a new word, and feeling that its significance was important. “Never you mind, Baby,” said Aggie, kissing her. “It isn’t anything that’s going to bite _you_.” “I tell you,” said Ruth, with decision, “you take her out into the yard to play, Tess. Aggie and I will finish here. We mustn’t let her get a dislike for this lovely old house. We’re the Corner House girls, you know, and we mustn’t be afraid of our own home,” and she kissed Dot again. “I—I guess I’ll like it by and by,” sobbed Dot, trying hard to recover her composure. “But—but it’s so b-b-big and scary.” “Nothing at all to scare you here, dear,” said Ruth, briskly. “Now, run along.” When the smaller girls had gone for their hats, Ruth said to Aggie: “You know, mother always said Dot had too much imagination. She just pictures things as so much worse, or so much better, than they really are. Now, if she should really ever be frightened here, maybe she’d never like the old house to live in at all.” “Oh, my!” said Aggie. “I hope that won’t happen. For I think this is just the very finest house I ever saw. There is none as big in sight on this side of the parade ground. We must be awfully rich, Ruth.” “Why—why I never thought of that,” said the elder sister, slowly. “I don’t know whether we are actually rich, or not. Mr. Howbridge said something about there being a lot of tenements and money, but, you see, as long as Uncle Peter’s will can’t be found, maybe we can’t use much of the money.” “We’ll have to work hard to keep this place clean,” sighed Aggie. “We haven’t anything else to do this summer, anyway,” said Ruth, quickly. “And maybe things will be different by fall.” “Maybe we can find the will!” exclaimed Aggie, voicing a sudden thought. “Oh!” “Wouldn’t that be great?” “I’ll ask Mr. Howbridge if we may look. I expect _he_ has looked in all the likely places,” Ruth said, after a moment’s reflection. “Then we’ll look in the unlikely ones,” chuckled Aggie. “You know, you read in story books about girls finding money in old stockings, and in cracked teapots, and behind pictures in the parlor, and inside the stuffing of old chairs, and——” “Goodness me!” exclaimed Ruth. “You are as imaginative as Dot herself.” Meanwhile Tess and Dot had run out into the yard. They had already made a tour of discovery about the neglected garden and the front lawn, where the grass was crying-out for the mower.