"Oh, please, Fanchon," said Nina, whose tears had trickled weakly forth, for she had really been rather bad, "don't scold me, but tell me what you have arranged with Cat last night." "She's not a cat--we made a mistake about that," said Fanchon. "What on earth do you mean now, Fanchon?" exclaimed Josie. "She explained things to me. She's very good-natured, and very wise." "Very ill-natured and only _self_-wise!" exclaimed Josie. "No, no--you don't know!" and then Fanchon proceeded to explain to both her sisters all about that wonderful point of view which Brenda, in her cleverness, had managed to impress on her mind. The money was kept back on purpose. It was on account of dear papa and dear papa's eccentricity. The money would be spent at Marshlands, and Nina, if she liked, could keep accounts. "She cried about it, poor thing!" said Fanchon. "She admits, of course, that the money is there for us, and she will buy us just what we want and give us a good time, and some treats besides in the different tea shops. She really was awfully nice about it." "Oh, Fanchon," said Josephine, "you are taken in easily." "No, I'm not--I didn't believe her myself at first." "You mean to say you do now?" said Nina. "Y-yes, I do now." Notwithstanding her weakness, Nina laughed. "Well, then--I don't--do you, Joey?" "I?" said Josephine. "I believe her less than ever. She is found out, and she means to save herself by spending the money on us. She's a worse old cat than ever--that's what _I_ call her." "Well--of course," said Fanchon, "you can tell papa--she told me last night that I could." "It's the right thing to do," said Nina. "Well, I don't think so. I believe her--I really and truly do. She confesses she told that lie about not having money, for she wished to have the thing a secret until we got to the seaside; but that is the whole of her offending. Of course you, girls, can tell papa, but it'll be very serious, particularly as that awful Miss Juggins has come home to live with her mother." "What in the wide world has Miss Juggins to do with it?" exclaimed both sisters. "Well--she's out of a situation, and papa is safe and certain to get her to come to us. It was Brenda herself who spoke of her last night. She did not mention her name, but she must have had her in her mind. She is between forty and fifty if she's a day, and she wears spectacles and has a cast in her eye and she's a perfect terror. If we get poor Brenda away, we don't go to the sea, and Juggins comes. It's because of Juggins that I believe in Brenda--it is really." This frank avowal of the cause of her belief had a great influence on the other girls. Josephine sat quite still, evidently in deep thought. Nina lay back against her pillows. "It would be awful to have Juggins!" she said, after a pause, "she would be worse than Brenda." "She would be honest, though," said Josephine.