“Who-o-o-o!” Miss Susanna cried out like a small tree owl. Like a flash her own sturdy hands readied up and caught Marjorie by the arm. “I know this game! I can guess who it is!” she cried out like a jubilant child.
“Guess, then,” growled Marjorie in as gruff a voice as she could muster.
“Marvelous Manager,” came with delighted certainty. This particular nickname for Marjorie seemed always most to amuse the old lady.
“Right-o! And who else?” Marjorie persisted, still keeping sight shut off from the chuckling victim.
“That’s easy,” boasted Miss Susanna. “Leila and Vera—yes—and Robin Page. Since you’re here, child, she must be here, too. And Kathie. She’s a fixture on the campus. Now drop those hands and let me have a look at you,” impatiently commanded the old lady.
The prisoning hands fell away from Miss Hamilton’s eyes revealing five laughing girls clustered at one side of the historic chair in which the old lady sat, her expression one of keen enjoyment. She immediately held out her arms to Marjorie who slipped into them and kissed Miss Susanna on the forehead and on both cheeks.
“My dear, dear child. So you surprised me after all, though I have been on the watch for you. It was all Jonas’ fault. He fixed up this scheme.” Miss Susanna heartily returned Marjorie’s caress with every evidence of affection. Next she motioned each of the others to her and kissed her on the cheek, a mark of favor they had not expected from the matter-of-fact mistress of the Arms.
“You stole a march on me, and Jonas helped you!” she exclaimed when the first babel of greeting had subsided. “I’m glad you found me here. I’m going to do something for you now that I think you’ll like. Come, guess what. You made me guess.”
“Show us something of interest that was Mr. Brooke Hamilton’s,” Marjorie made instant guess.
“Um-m-m; partly right,” Miss Susanna put on a baffling expression.
“It’s a letter, or one of those papers,” hazarded Vera. “I mean what you are going to show us.”
“Right again, but not altogether right.” Miss Susanna was enjoying the moment of suspense.
“It’s tea I can read in your eye, and I’ll guess again it’s been put off till this time each night this week,” Leila slyly asserted. “Oh, I have a fine reasoning power.” Leila showed her white teeth affably, “though there are those who do not believe it.”