Of course she had plenty of help, and that wonderful little
Miss Hawthorn has been a host in herself. They're all gone now, anyway,
except Miss Hawthorn."
"But Billy must have had the care and the excitement."
"Perhaps--to a certain extent. Though not much, after all. You see
Bertram, too, has given up his summer to them, and has been playing the
devoted escort to the whole bunch. Indeed, for the last few weeks of it,
since Billy began to seem so ill, he and Miss Hawthorn have schemed
to take all the care from Billy, and they have done the whole thing
together."
"But what HAS Billy done to make her like this?"
"I don't know. She's done lots for me, in all sorts of ways--cataloguing
my curios, you know, and going with me to hunt up things. In fact, she
seems the happiest when she IS doing something for me. It's come to be
a sort of mania with her, I'm afraid--to do something for me. Kate, I'm
really worried. What do you suppose is the matter?"
Kate shook her head. The puzzled frown had come back to her face.
"I can't imagine," she began slowly. "Of course, when I told her you
loved her and--"
"When you told her wha-at?" exploded the usually low-voiced William,
with sudden sharpness.
"When I told her that you loved her, William. You see, I--"
William sprang to his feet.
"Told her that I loved her!" he cried, aghast.
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