"Do you know who she was?" asked Mrs. Leighton. "No," chimed both. "Well, I don’t know her name," said Mrs. Leighton. She rose and moved towards the door. "But I know one thing." She opened the door softly. Elma and Betty sat up dry-eyed in bed. "Remember what I said to you to-night," Mrs. Leighton said, "and don’t be very ungrateful for all the happiness you’ve known, and little cowards when the frightening time comes. Promise me." They promised. She prepared to draw the door quietly behind her. "She is staying with the Story Books," whispered Mrs. Leighton. Then she closed the door. CHAPTER V "The Story Books" Call Mabel was sitting with Cuthbert when the Story Books called. They really did call. And nothing could have been more unpropitious. First, they called very early in the afternoon, just when Betty, with her arms full of matting for her rabbits, rushed out at the front door. She nearly ran into them. The matting slipped from her arms, and she stood spell-bound, gazing at the Story Books. Mrs. Dudgeon was there, looking half a size larger than any ordinary person. An osprey waved luxuriantly in a mauve toque, and her black dress bristled with grandeur. She produced a lorgnette and looked through it severely at Betty. Betty became half the size of an ordinary mortal. Adelaide Maud was with Mrs. Dudgeon. Adelaide Maud was in blue. Adelaide Maud seemed stiff and bored. "Is your mamma at home?" Mrs. Dudgeon asked. Betty kicked the matting out of the way in a surreptitious manner. "Oh, please come in," she said shyly. It was tragic that of all moments in one’s life the Dudgeons should have come when Betty happened to be flying out, and they had not even had time to ring for Bertha, who, as parlour-maid, had really irreproachable showing in manners. Betty tripped over a mat on her way to the drawing-room. Betty showed them in without a word of warning. Jean was singing at the piano--atrociously. Jean might know that she oughtn’t to sing till her voice was developed. Elma was dusting photographs. Nothing could have been more tragic. The girls melted from the room, and left Mrs. Dudgeon and Adelaide Maud in the centre of it, stranded, staring. "What an odd family," said Mrs. Dudgeon stiffly. Adelaide Maud never answered. The Leightons rushed frantically to other parts of the house. The second tragedy occurred. Mrs. Leighton utterly refused to change her quiet afternoon dress for another in which to receive Mrs. Dudgeon. She went to the drawing-room as she was. They ran to Cuthbert’s room to tell him about it. Cuthbert seemed rather excited when he asked which "Story Book." Elma said, "Oh, you know, _the_ one," and he concluded she meant Hermione, who did not interest him at all.