The Girl Next Door Read online

  CHAPTER IV

  THE BACKWARD GLANCE

  The next twenty-four hours were spent in delightful speculation. So hername was Cecily Marlowe! Was she any relation of Miss Benedict?"Marlowe" and "Benedict" were certainly dissimilar enough.

  "But then she might be a relation on Miss Benedict's mother's side,"suggested Marcia.

  "Does it sound likely when you think what she said just at thelast--that she didn't know why she was there?" replied Janet,scornfully. "She couldn't be in doubt about it if she were a _relation_,either come on a visit or there to stay!" Which argument settled _that_question.

  "But where do you suppose she has come from?" marveled Marcia. "She saidshe'd always lived in a little country village, and she didn't know athing about American money. She's foreign--that's certain. Even herclothes and her way of speaking show it. But from where?"

  "Did you notice that she said 'shilling'?" suggested Janet. "That showsshe must be English. She _looks_ English. Now will you tell me how shecould get 'way over here from England and not know why she had come?"

  "It sounds as if she might have been kidnapped," said Marcia. "Why,Janet! this is precisely like a mystery in a book. Do you _realize_ it?And here we are living right next door to it! It's too good to be true!"

  Janet's mind had, however, gone off on another tack. "I can't understandthat remark she made about the music. 'Traeumerei' is certainly about aswell known as any piece of classic music. She said she never rememberedhearing it, and yet it seems somehow familiar to her. Can you makeanything out of _that_?"

  Marcia couldn't. "Maybe it's all just a notion," she suggestedhelplessly. "Suppose I play some on the violin here in our window rightnow. She seems to enjoy it so. And maybe she'll open her shutteragain."

  So they sat on the window-seat, and Marcia played her very best,including the "Traeumerei," but no golden head appeared from behind theshutter that afternoon.

  "Never mind," said Janet. "We'll see her to-morrow, most likely. Perhapsshe's busy downstairs now."

  "But isn't she the prettiest little thing!" mused Marcia, reminiscently."The loveliest big blue eyes, and curly golden hair, and such a_trusting_ look in her face, somehow! It went right down to the verybottom of my heart, if it doesn't sound silly to put it that way."

  "Yes, I know," agreed Janet. "I felt the same way. But doesn't it strikeyou queer that--"

  "Oh, the whole thing's queer!" interrupted Marcia. "The queerest I everheard of. I guess you agree with me now, Janet, that I had a secretworth talking about in 'Benedict's Folly.' But let's wait till to-morrowand see what happens."

  The morrow came and went, however, and nothing happened at all. Hourafter hour the two girls watched for the signal of the whitehandkerchief, but every shuttered window of the old mansion remainedblank. Neither did any one go in or out of the gate. Late in theafternoon Marcia played again at the window, but the sweetest musiccalled forth not a single sign from behind the walls of the house nextdoor. Janet had but one solution to offer.

  "They probably didn't need any marketing done to-day, so she naturallydidn't go out."

  "But why couldn't she have at least looked out a moment from herwindow?" cried Marcia, disconsolately. "Surely that would have been easyto do, when she said she cared so much for the music. She must have_known_ I was playing just for her!"

  "She may have been somewhere in the house where she couldn't. You can'ttell, and oughtn't to blame her without knowing," declared Janet,defending the conduct of the mysterious Cecily. "To-morrow we'll see heragain, no doubt."

  On the morrow her prophecy was fulfilled. They did see her again, butunder circumstances so peculiar that they were quite dumfounded.

  All the morning they watched and waited in vain for some signal from theupper window. But none came. And the main part of the afternoon passedin precisely the same way. They sat very conspicuously in their ownwindow-seat, so that there could be no doubt in Cecily's mind abouttheir being at home. Marcia even did a little violin practice while theywaited. And still there was no sign. Suddenly, about five o'clock, Janetclutched at her chum's arm.

  "Look!" she cried.

  Marcia looked, and down the path from the front door of the strangehouse she saw Cecily, dressed to go out, approaching the gate. It wasplain that she was bound on another marketing expedition for the baskethung from her arm.

  "_Well!_ what do you make of that!" exclaimed Marcia in bewilderment."Did she signal to us?"

  "No, she didn't," returned Janet. "I've watched every minute. She_couldn't_ have forgotten it. But, do you know, there may be some verygood reason why she didn't--or couldn't--and perhaps she's hoping we'llsee her, and be on hand outside, anyway, as we promised."

  "But she _must_ have seen us sitting in the window," argued Marcia. "Shemight at least have looked up and waved her hand, or nodded, orsmiled--or something!"

  Cecily, meanwhile, was fumbling with the lock of the big old gate, whichseemed, as on a former occasion, to give her a great deal of trouble.

  "Come," cried Janet to Marcia. "We'll just about have time to catch herif we hurry." And seizing their hats, the girls hastened downstairs.Their front door closed behind them just as Cecily came abreast of them.What happened next was like a blow in the face!

  Cecily Marlowe passed them by without a look]

  They had started forward, each with a friendly smile, expecting theirnew companion to meet them in similar fashion. To their amazement,Cecily Marlowe, after the first sudden look into their faces, droppedher eyes, and passed them by without a glance, precisely as if they wereutter strangers to her.

  Both girls gasped, stared at her departing figure till she turned thecorner, and then into each other's faces.

  "The ungrateful little thing!" Marcia presently exploded. "If thatwasn't the 'cut direct,' I've never seen it before!"

  "An unmistakable way of telling us to mind our own business!" even Janethad to admit. "How humiliating! And yet--"

  "Yet--what?" demanded Marcia, indignantly. "You're surely not going totry to excuse such inexcusable conduct as _that_! I see very plainlywhat's happened. She's thought it over and decided that we weremeddlesome and just trying to _push_ an acquaintance with her, and shethinks she's a little too exclusive for that kind of thing, and thesimple remedy was to 'cut us dead'!" Marcia was quite out of breath whenshe finished this summing up.

  "It _does_ look like it," Janet admitted. "But somehow, even yet, Ican't feel that she _wanted_ to do it--of her own accord, I mean."

  But Marcia couldn't see it in that light. They discussed the questionhotly, still standing on the front stoop of the apartment. So long, infact, did they argue it back and forth, turning and twisting the sorrylittle occurrence, viewing it in every possible light, that before theyrealized it, Cecily was returning, her errands accomplished. How she hadmanaged to find her way and cross the streets in safety, they could onlyconjecture.

  To reach her own gate, she had to pass directly by where they werestanding, and they saw her approaching down the block.

  "Here she comes," muttered Marcia. "Now, let's stand right here andwatch her as she goes by. She can't _help_ but see us. We'll give herone more chance to do the proper thing."

  And so they waited, breathless, expectant, while the girl came rapidlyon, her eyes cast down, watching the pavement. But even when she wasquite in front of them, she did not once look up, and without commenttheir gaze followed her retreating figure to the gate.

  As she fitted the big key and swung the gate open, they were just aboutto turn to each other in angry impatience when something else happened.

  Cecily Marlowe turned her head and looked back at them for one long,tense moment. It was such a wistful, imploring look, a gaze so full ofappeal for forgiveness, so plainly in contrast with her recent conduct,that their hearts melted at once.

  Simultaneously they waved their hands and smiled at her, and she smiledback in return, the most adorable little smile in the world, full oftrust and confidence and utter friendlines
s.

  Then she hurried in and closed the gate, leaving her two new friendsoutside more bewildered than ever.