Three Sides of Paradise GreenSeaman, Augusta Huiell
General
Three Sides of Paradise Green
Seaman, Augusta Huiell
Diary fiction; Girls -- Juvenile fiction; Mystery fiction; New England -- Juvenile fiction
"Huh!" she sniffed. "Aren't you a little late in the day? I discovered
the same thing about a month ago in the same book, or in one just like
it!"
The two sat staring at her in stunned silence. Then Carol glanced at the
book.
"It's so, Sue," she murmured. "It's the very same kind of a book that we
saw her showing to Monsieur that day. Look at the light green cover."
It was indeed the same! But the Imp had had her triumph and now could
afford to be magnanimous.
"Since you've discovered the same thing," she said, "I'll tell you how
_I_ happened to come across it. Our teacher, Miss Hastings, recently
brought and hung up in the schoolroom some pretty new pictures. One that
I liked very much was called 'The Girl with the Muff.' One day I asked
Miss Hastings something about it, and she told me who the artist was and
said there was a book in the library about her, with pictures of her
other paintings in it. Next day she brought the book to school and let
me look at it. And, girls, it was this book, or one like it, and while I
was looking it over I almost jumped out of my shoes to come across this
very picture. I didn't say a word about it, though, but just went and
joined the library and got the book out and read it all."
"And did you find out who this dauphin was?" Sue asked breathlessly.
"I certainly did," answered the Imp, "and a whole lot more besides."
"Well, who _was_ he, then?"
"I wonder if I ought to tell you?" said the Imp reflectively. "You see I
promised Monsieur I wouldn't say anything about what I had discovered.
As you can guess now, I showed it to him, and it quite took him off his
feet with surprise. He begged me to say nothing about it to any one."
"Look here!" exclaimed Sue suddenly. "You told us once, quite a long
while ago, that you asked Monsieur one day who the picture of the 'nice
little boy' in his room was, and that he told you then. So how could he
be surprised when you found it out later?"
Sue thought she'd surely caught the Imp _that_ time. But the other only
laughed.
"He only told me just what you said he told Louis--that it was one of
the world's 'heroic martyrs.' I was teasing you girls into thinking I
knew it all. You'd been pretty hateful to me just around that time."
"I thought as much!" said Sue. "But we'll forgive you now, if you'll
tell us what you know. There can't be any harm in it, since we've
discovered just what you have."
But the Imp wouldn't have been herself, if she had acted in a way like
ordinary folks. She stood and thought it over for a moment, keeping them
on tenter-hooks all the time. Then she remarked:
"No, I don't honestly think it would be keeping my promise, if I said a
word to you about it. I'm going to keep _that_, whatever else I do. But
I'll open the book at one picture before I go, and that's all the hint
I'm going to give you." She took the book and laid it open at a certain
place, and then dashed down the stairs before they had time to say
another word.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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