he smiled, with a little embarrassment.

"Dear Mrs. Maynard," she said, "I'm afraid I understand it all better
than you do; but I'm also afraid, if I explain it to you, you will,--it
will make----"

Suddenly Mrs. Maynard saw a gleam of light.

"Marjorie!" she exclaimed.

"Yes," said Mrs. Curtis; "I think it was due to Miss Mischief. When I
returned home from an errand, Lisa said that your Marjorie and Gladys
Fulton had had Dotty out in her carriage, and had also another baby who
was visiting you. The girls had left Dotty--or rather, Lisa supposed it
was Dotty--asleep in her coach, and Nurse let her stay there, asleep,
until my return. Then the child wakened--and it wasn't Dotty at all! The
baby had on Dot's slippers, cap, coat, and veil, but the rest of her
clothes I had never seen before. I felt sure there had been foul play of
some sort, but Lisa was sure those girls had exchanged the babies'
clothes on purpose. I hoped Lisa was right, but I feared she wasn't, so
I picked up the baby and ran over here to see."

Mrs. Maynard was both grieved and chagrined.

"How could Marjorie do such a thing!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, don't be too hard on her, Mrs. Maynard," said Mrs. Curtis. "It's
all right, now, and you know Marjorie and Gladys are a mischievous
pair."

"But this is inexcusable," went on Mrs. Maynard. "Mrs. Harrison nearly
went frantic, and you were certainly greatly alarmed."

Mrs. Curtis smiled pleasantly. "I was," she admitted, "but it was only
for a few moments. I was mystified rather than alarmed, for Lisa said
the carriage had not been out of her sight a moment, except when the
girls had it."

Mrs. Curtis took her leave, and, carrying with her her own baby, went
away home.

Mrs. Maynard made sincere apologies to her friend for naughty Marjorie's
mischief.

"Never mind, Helen," said Mrs. Harrison. "I can see now it was only a
childish prank, and doubtless Marjorie and Gladys expected a good laugh
over it; then they ran off unexpectedly and forgot all about the
babies."

Mrs. Maynard remembered then that Midget had said at the last moment
that she had something to tell her, but that she had hurried the child
off.

"Still," she thought to herself, "that was no excuse for Midge. She
should have told me."

After a refreshing luncheon, Mrs. Harrison was able to view the matter
more calmly.

"Don't punish Marjorie for this, Helen," she said. "Children will be
children, and I daresay those girls tho