had been running the car at a high rate
of speed, and just as we reached the little incline above the station,
the machine skidded, and we crashed into that tree. I felt a frightful
jar that seemed to loosen every bone in my body, and remembered nothing
further until I came back to earth again, here in the hospital."

"You opened your eyes, once, before the ambulance came," said Grace.

"Did I!" smiled the stranger. "I do not remember it. But, really, I am
very rude! I have not told you my name."

"It's coming," thought Grace, unconsciously bracing herself. Nora and
Anne had also straightened up, their eyes fastened on the speaker.

"My name is Allison," said the woman, wholly unaware of the bombshell
she had exploded. "I am a widow and quite alone in the world. My husband
died a number of years ago."

"I knew it, I knew it," muttered Grace.

"What did you say, my dear?" asked Mrs. Allison.

But Grace was silent. The woman was too nervous as yet to hear the news.
Perhaps after all the name was a mere coincidence.

Anne, understanding Grace's silence, hurriedly took up the conversation.

"Are you familiar with this part of the country?" she asked.

"I have not been here for a number of years," replied Mrs. Allison,
"although my friends, the Gibsons, have sent me repeated invitations.
Mrs. Gibson and I went through Vassar together."

"We expect to go to college next year," said Grace. "We are seniors in
Oakdale High School."

"The years a young girl spends in college are usually the happiest of
her whole life," said Mrs. Allison, with a sigh. "Everything is rose
colored. She forms high ideals that help to sweeten life for her long
after her college career is over. The friendships she forms are usually
worth while, too. Mrs. Gibson and I have kept track of one another even
since graduation. We have shared our joys and sorrows, and in my darkest
hours her loyal friendship and ready sympathy have been a heaven-sent
blessing to me."

"We three girls are sworn friends," said Grace, "and we have another
chum, too. She was very sorry that she could not come to-day. She will
be glad to know that you are so much better. Her name is Jessica Bright.
She was with us at the station yesterday."

"I should like to meet her," said Mrs. Allison, "and I thank her for her
interest in me. I really feel as though I had known you three girls for
a long time. I wish you would tell me more of yourselves and your school
life."