"And we took him for a thief," said Billie, sadly.
The other occurrence will show that life is full of coincidences and that if our memories are good and our impulses kind, we can always help someone.
The morning of the wedding Elinor was waiting for her friends at a window at one end of the hotel corridor. Someone else was waiting there also, but the two had not even glanced at each other so engrossed were they in their own thoughts. A door opened and a voice called:
"Yes?" called two voices at once and two girls turned and faced each other.
"I beg your pardon," they both began at the same moment and paused laughing.
Then they laughed again, politely and pleasantly.
"Do you know. I think we look very much alike," began the strange girl. Her voice was English. "I am older than you, many years, I should imagine, but still we have the same profile."
The two girls sat down on the window sill and began to talk.
"Are you visiting in San Francisco?" began Elinor Butler.
"No, not visiting, only--well, we have been traveling--we have been to a great many ranches through the West----"
Our Elinor gave the new Elinor a long, careful scrutiny.
"Her name is Elinor. She looks like you----" a voice said in her mind.
"Are you not looking for a friend?" she asked presently.
"But, how did you guess?" exclaimed the other girl, clasping her hands with great agitation.
"And his name is Algernon de Willoughby Blackstone Winston?"
"Yes, yes," cried the English Elinor. "How did you know?"
"I know because I reminded him of you," answered Elinor Butler, "and because my name is Elinor."
Then she gave the English girl the address of Steptoe Lodge.
"It is in answer to my prayers--my meeting you," cried the older girl. "Only it has taken such a long time. If only one has the patience to wait; but it has been very hard. Once we heard of his being in Canada, but when we went to fetch him, his father and I, he had gone and left no trace whatever. We were told that there are a great many young Englishmen on ranches in the Western States and we have been to--Oh, hundreds of places. Lord Blackstone has had detectives looking for him. But you see he changed his name and we have had no success."
"You will be certain to find him this time," said Elinor, "only when you go to fetch him, don't tell him beforehand. Take him by surprise."