ntly Mrs. Randolph called for Mrs. Gimson to come up stairs, as
she wished to speak to her. Lucindy felt that now the discovery had
been made, and strengthening her purpose, to deny all, worked on,
quietly waiting for developments.

In a few moments, her aunt came down in great excitement, and told her
that someone had been in the house, while they were away, and had
stolen Mrs. Randolph's elegant India mull overskirt, and had almost
ruined her other dresses, as the trimmings were broken and destroyed,
and some of them were gone entirely.

"It must have been when I went for water; I noticed that there were
two tramps going down the road, a man and woman."

"Oh, Lucindy, you should have locked the door!"

"Why, aunt, I never lock the doors when I go after water. I suppose
you'll put the blame of it on me!" Here Lucindy began to cry. "I think
you are a very strange woman to leave no one but a girl alone in a
house, with such valuable things; it's a wonder the robbers didn't
kill me; my coming in frightened them away. I've no doubt they thought
it was the hired man," Lucindy continued to cry.

Mrs. Gimson never suspected her niece of such systematic deception.
The well was a short distance from the house, and that accounted for
the fact that nothing else was missing, as they had not had time, and
also that the other dresses had been rudely dragged to get them down.

She believed Lucindy's story. Mrs. Randolph could not account for the
plight in which she found her clothing, and bewailed her loss, as
being particularly annoying at this juncture.

Nothing more was said, and, after taking tea, they started for the
Judge's, leaving Mrs. Gimson in a greatly perturbed state of mind. She
knew that this unfortunate thing would get abroad and discourage
patrons. Desirable boarders would avoid her house in future.

Lucindy, never uttering a comforting word to her aunt, went up to her
room with an air of injured innocence that hurt her aunt quite as much
as any thing she had undergone. During the early part of the evening a
violent thunder storm came up, and Mrs. Randolph did not return. The
next morning it still rained, and there was no excuse for Lucindy's
going out, and the dress could not be secured. Mrs. Randolph returned
at noon, and informed Mrs. Gimson that she had been invited to visit,
for the rest of the summer, at Judge Brander's, and would leave Mrs.
Gimson's the next day.

Just as soon as Lucindy could be spar