CHAPTER VIII
TOO MUCH PARTY
Betty shared a room with Bobby. The single beds were separated by atable on which an electric drop light and the water pitcher and glasseswere placed.
Betty's first impulse was to snap on the light, but as she put out herhand, Esther grasped her wrist.
"It's only me," she whispered, her teeth chattering with fright. "Don'twake Bobby up."
"Are you cold?" asked Betty, sitting up anxiously. "Perhaps you were toowarm dancing. Do you want to get into bed with me?"
It was a warm night for October, and Betty was at a loss to understandEsther's shivering.
"I can't find Libbie!" Esther cried. "Oh, Betty, I never thought shewould do it, never."
Betty reached for her dressing gown and slippers.
"Don't cry, or you'll wake up Bobby," she advised the sobbing Esther."Come on, I'll go back with you. Don't make a noise."
The girls occupied three connecting rooms, and Esther and Libbie hadslept in the end of the suite. To reach it now, the two girls had to gothrough the room where Louise and Frances lay slumbering peacefully.Betty breathed a sigh of relief when they gained Esther's room and sheclosed the door carefully and turned on the light.
Esther's bed, madly tumbled, and Libbie's, evidently occupied that night,but now empty, were revealed.
Esther dropped down on the floor, wrapping her kimono about her, andregarded Betty trustfully. She was sure her friend would straightenthings out.
"Where is Libbie?" demanded Betty. "What is she doing?"
"I don't know," admitted Esther unhappily. "But I tell you what Ithink--I think she's eloped!"
Esther was only eleven, and as she sat on the floor and stared at Bettyfrom great wet blue eyes, she seemed very young indeed.
"Eloped!" gasped Betty. "Why, I never heard of such a thing!"
"She's always talking about it," the younger girl wailed, beginning tocry again. "She says it's the most romantic way to be married, and shemeans to throw her hope chest out of the window first and slide down arope made of bedsheets."
"Well, I think it's very silly to talk like that," scolded Betty. "And,what's more, Esther, however much Libbie may talk of eloping, she hasn'tdone it this time. All her clothes are here, and her shoes and her hat.Here's her purse on the dresser, too."
"I never thought of looking to see if her clothes were here," confessedEsther. "But then, where is she, Betty?"
"That's what I mean to find out," announced Betty, with more confidencethan she felt. "Come on, Esther. And don't trip on your kimono or walkinto anything."
They tiptoed out into the wide hall and had reached the head of thebeautiful carved staircase when they saw a dim form coming toward them.
Esther nearly shrieked aloud, but Betty put a hand over her mouth intime.
"Who--who, who-o-o are you?" stammered Betty, her heart beating so fastit was painful.
"Betty!" Bob stifled a gasp. "For the love of Mike! what are you doing atthis time of night?"
"Esther's here--we're hunting for Libbie," whispered Betty. "She isn't inher room."
"So that's it!" For some reason unknown to the girls Bob seemed to bevastly relieved. "I was just going after Mr. Littell," he added.
"But Libbie is lost! Maybe she is sick," urged Betty.
"She's all right," declared Bob confidently. "You see, I couldn't go tosleep, and after I'd been in bed about an hour I got up and sat by thewindow. I was staring down into the garden, and all of a sudden I sawsomething white begin to move and creep about. I watched it a few momentsand I got the idea it was a burglar or a sneak thief, it kept so close tothe house. I came down to call Mr. Littell and bumped into you."
"Do you suppose it is Libbie?" chattered Esther. "Why would she go intothe garden in the middle of the night?"
"Walking in her sleep," explained Bob. "I've heard it is dangerous towaken a sleep-walker suddenly. Perhaps you'd better call Mrs. Littell,Betty, and I'll sit here on the window seat and see that she doesn't walkout into the road."
The two girls hurried off and tapped lightly on Mrs. Littell's door. Thatlady hurriedly admitted them, her motherly mind instantly picturingsomething wrong.
"It's Libbie," said Betty softly. "Bob saw her from his window in thegarden and he thinks she's walking in her sleep. We don't want tofrighten her. What can we do?"
"I'll be right out," said Mrs. Littell reassuringly. "Libbie's motherused to walk in her sleep, too. I think I can get the child into bedwithout waking her at all."
In a few moments she came out, a heavy corduroy robe and slippersprotecting her against the night air.
"Esther, lamb, you stay here in the hall with Bob," she directed heryoungest daughter. "You won't be afraid with Bob, will you, dear? I don'twant too many to go down or we may startle Libbie."
Betty crept downstairs after Mrs. Littell, the soft, thick rugs makingtheir progress absolutely noiseless. Not a step in the well-builtstaircase creaked.
They found the chain and bolt drawn from the heavy front door. Libbie hadevidently let herself out with no difficulty. From the wide hall windowBob and Esther watched breathlessly.
"Just go up to her quietly and take one of her hands," Mrs. Littellwhispered to Betty. "I'll take the other, and, if I'm not mistaken, wecan lead her into the house."
Libbie stood motionless beside a rosebush as they approached her. Hereyes were wide open, and her dark hair floated over her shoulders. In herwhite nightdress, the moonlight full upon her, she looked very pretty andyet so weird that Betty could not repress a shiver.
Mrs. Littell did not speak, but took one of the limp hands in hers, andBetty took the other. Libbie made no resistance, and allowed them todraw her toward the house. They crossed the threshold, led her upstairs,past the quivering Esther and Bob huddled on the windowseat, and into thebedroom she had so unceremoniously left.
Then Mrs. Littell lifted her in strong arms, put her gently down on thebed, and Libbie rolled up like a little kitten, tucked one hand under hercheek and continued to sleep.
"Now go to bed, children, do," commanded Mrs. Littell. "Bob, I'm sothankful you saw that child--she might have wandered off or caught asevere cold. As it is, I don't believe she has been out very long. What'sthe matter, Esther?"
"Can I come and sleep with you?" pleaded Esther. "I'm afraid to sleepwith Libbie. She might do it again."
"I don't think so--not to-night," said her mother, smiling. "However,chicken, come and sleep with me if you'll rest better."
Betty awoke and went in later that night to see if Libbie had vanishedagain, but found her sleeping normally. In the morning the girl was muchsurprised to find she had been wandering in the garden and betrayedconsiderable interest in the details. Betty decided that it would bebetter to omit Esther's belief that she had eloped, and Libbie wasallowed to remain in blissful ignorance of the action her youthful cousinattributed to her.
The last day sped by all too soon, and what the Tucker twins persistedin pessimistically designating the "fateful Thursday" was upon them.
"I don't know why you sigh so frequently," dimpled Betty, who sat next toTommy Tucker at the breakfast table. "I'm very anxious to go to school.Don't you really like to go back?"
"It's like this," said Tommy, the "dark Tucker twin," solemnly. "Fromfour to ten p.m. (except on drill nights) I like it well enough, and fromten, lights out, till six, reveille, I'm fairly contented. But from nineto four, when we're cooped up in classrooms, I simply detest school!"
Teddy, the "light Tucker twin," nodded in confirmation.
"I suppose we have to be educated," he admitted, with the air of onemaking a generous concession to public opinion, "but I don't see why theyfind it necessary to prolong the agony. Any one who can read and writecan make a living."
"Perhaps your father hopes you'll do a bit more than that," suggested Mr.Littell slyly.
This effectually silenced the twins, for their wealthy father was asplendid scientist who had made several explorations
that had contributedmaterially to the knowledge of the scientific world, and he had lost thesight of one eye in a laboratory experiment undertaken to advance thecause for which he labored.
The Littell car carried the twelve to the station soon afterbreakfast, and though Shadyside and Salsette, unlike many of the largenorthern schools, ran no "special," the few passengers who were notschool bound found themselves decidedly in the minority on the "9:36local" that morning.
"Remember, Betty, you and Bob are to spend the holidays with us," saidMrs. Littell, as she kissed her good-bye. "If your uncle comes down fromCanada, he must come, too."
"All aboard!" shouted the conductor, who foresaw a lively trip. "No'm,you can't go through the gate--nobody can."
The crowd of fathers and mothers and younger brothers and sisterspressed close to the iron grating as the train got under way. On theback platform the Tucker twins raised their voices in a school yell thatwould have horrified the dignified heads of the Academy had they beenthere to hear it.