The house was very quiet; Carie was taking her nap,
Aunt Zelie dressing to go out. Helen sat down on the top step of the
porch and wiped her eyes, saying to herself, "They are just as mean
as anything, but I don't care--I'll have a good time too. I think I'll
ask Aunt Zelie to let me go with her."
It happened that as the runaways reached the gate Aunt Marcia's coupe
turned the corner, and her horrified eyes beheld their flight. When
she stepped from her carriage her lips were firmly closed in a manner
which indicated that they would be opened presently for somebody's
benefit. She was so absorbed that she almost fell over the woebegone
little figure on the step.
"You have been crying--what is the matter?" she demanded.
"Oh, Aunt Marcia, I didn't see you--please excuse me," said Helen,
whose politeness rarely failed her, rising and putting away her
handkerchief. Mrs. Hazeltine saw pretty clearly how matters stood.
"Never mind, my dear," she said; "perhaps you would like to take a
drive with me. I am going out to Cousin John's."
Helen was her favorite among the children, because she was quiet and
demure, and did not tear and soil her clothes as Bess and Louise did.
Helen on her part looked up to Aunt Marcia with deep admiration, and
meant to be just like her when she was grown.
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