Sallie reached into the bag, as was her habit, and pulled out a letter.
"Miss Eleanor Pratt," she read. One of the Seniors accepted it, calmly.
"Miss Anne Blodgett, Miss Isabelle Carew, Miss Ruth Dennis, Miss Debbie Clark, Miss Hazel Benton, Miss Gladys de Milligan, Miss Bettie Tucker, Miss Augusta Lemon, Miss Beatrice Holmes--" Another Senior strolled leisurely forward and condescended to accept a letter. Really, those older girls were annoying; they were so _blasé_ about their mail.
"Miss Mabel Bennett," called Sallie, in her clear, strong voice.
Mabel seized her letter and waved it, gleefully. "It's from _Mother_!" she cried. "Hip, Hip, Hooray!" (There was nothing _blasé_ about Mabel.)
Sallie, beaming sympathetically, pulled another letter from the bag.
"It's from Mother," Mabel shrieked again.
But when the third letter proved to be Mabel's, too, Mabel was too breathless with excitement to do more than gasp. When she had received five letters and four postal cards and a package containing thick, remarkably substantial German handkerchiefs, one for herself and one for each of her Lakeville friends, it was almost a relief to hear Sallie read a different name; for even the lofty Seniors were staring at her in astonishment.
"It wasn't my _people_ that were lost," explained Mabel, after she had read all this accumulation of mail. "For quite a long time Mother mailed her letters in an old post-box that wasn't used any more for that purpose. She didn't understand enough German when somebody told her that wasn't the right one. But Father found out about it; and, after a long time, they succeeded in getting the German postmaster to open the old box and send her letters. So I'm not an orphan after all. And this week I'm going to buy something lovely with every penny of my thirty cents for Sallie, because she is."
Shortly before Christmas, Jean's father, Mr. Mapes, turned up just in time to whisk the Lakeville youngsters aboard their train. The girls were so glad to see a friend from home that they all but wept tears of joy. Quiet Mr. Mapes was quite pleased and embarrassed at their rapturous greeting--even Henrietta having surprised him with a kiss.
"We'd be glad to see even a beggar from _home_," explained Mabel earnestly and with her usual frankness--and wondered why Mr. Mapes laughed.