ng.

A waiter placed their dinner before the three young folks and Alfy and
Leslie fell to work upon it with hungry zeal, but Dorothy could not eat.
Her eye had discovered a clock on the wall, with the hands pointing five
minutes to three. At ten minutes past that hour the "Eastern Limited"
would roll out of the station and she be left behind. In a sudden
impulse, she threw her arms about Aunt Betty's neck, begging:

"Take me with you! Please take me with you! I--I love you best of all
the world, so why shouldn't we keep together?"

If there were tears in Mrs. Calvert's bright, dark eyes, she did not
allow them to fall. Unclasping her darling's arms and gently laying them
down, she silently signalled to Mrs. Ford and almost as silently left
the room.

The "Gray Lady" followed and Aunt Betty whispered:

"I'm getting too old for good-bys. I'm going to slip away in the hotel
stage and don't let Dolly follow me, please, till it's too late. She'll
be all right again, directly, and--and so shall I. Good-by to you,
though, and--that's all."

Dolly dropped her head on the edge of the table, as Aunt Betty loosened
her arms. She was bravely trying to overcome the sudden loneliness which
possessed her and in this was helped by Alfy's warning:

"Dolly Doodles! Take your head out of your soup plate! Are you crazy?
There goes your ribbon right into the mess!"

The head was lifted so suddenly that the ribbon flew off and fell into
the dish and its owner's tears ended in a giggle. Then her face flushed
at thought of her own awkwardness and she looked down expecting a
reprimand from Mrs. Calvert. When none came she lifted her eyes and
found the next chair empty. This was a relief. She'd hide the ribbon
before her aunt discovered it! But already the waiter had whisked that
plate away and was supplying her with another.

Funny! Where Aunt Betty had gone! But, of course she'd merely left the
room for a minute and would be back to say good-by. Then she picked at
her food for a moment, wondering why Mr. Ford had also disappeared, and
at the eagerness with which Leslie and Alfaretta enjoyed the good things
served to them.

Gray Lady slipped back to her own place between the other two young
people and began to ask them about the adventure which had delayed them.
Presently they were all talking together, even Dorothy adding her
comments and forgetting to look again at that warning clock.

Besides, she was listening to the grumbles