“Yes, Gracie, dear; I’ll be glad to give you all the help I can.  I’m glad papa said I might.  Oh, but it will be lonely here without you!  I do think papa might have said I could go, too.”

“I’d be ever so glad if he had, or would,” said Grace, as hand in hand they left the room together, “but you know, Lu dear, we always find out in the end that his way is the best.”

“So we do, and I’ll try to believe it now,” returned Lulu, in a more cheerful tone than she had used since learning that the rest of the family were to go to Ion and she was to remain at home.

With her good help Grace was ready in a few minutes, and just then they heard their father call to her to come at once, as the carriage was at the door.

The sisters embraced each other hastily, Grace saying, “Oh, Lu, good-by, I do wish you were going along, for I can hardly bear to go without you.”

“Never mind, but just try to enjoy yourself as much as ever you can,” returned Lulu.  “Go down now, dearie, for we should never keep papa waiting, you know.  Here’s Agnes to carry down your satchel.  I hope you won’t stay long enough away from me to need many clothes, and if you do it will be easy enough to send them—­the carriage going back and forth every day.”

Grace was half-way down the stairs before Lulu had finished.

“Ain’t you a gwine down to see de folks off, Miss Lulu?” queried Agnes, as she took up the satchel.

“No,” returned Lulu shortly; “I’m going back to the schoolroom to attend to my lessons.”

Agnes gave her a look of surprise as she left the room, thinking she had never known Miss Lu fail to be at the door when any of the other members of the family were leaving for more than a short drive, and she staying behind.

“Where is Lulu, Gracie?” asked Violet, as the captain handed the little girl into the carriage.  “I hadn’t time to hunt her up, and thought she would be here at the door to say good-by to us all.”

“She said she must hurry back to her lessons, mamma,” answered Grace, blushing for her sister.  “You see she stopped to help me get ready, and I suppose she’s afraid she’ll not know them well by the time papa wants to hear her recite.”

“It would have taken very little of her time,” the captain remarked, with a grave and somewhat displeased look.

“Oh, well, you can bring her over to Ion, perhaps this afternoon or to-morrow, for a call, Levis,” Violet hastened to say in a cheery tone.

“Possibly,” he answered, and was about to step into the carriage when a servant came hurrying up to ask directions in regard to some work to be done in the grounds.

“My dear,” said the captain to Violet, “I think it would be better for you and the children to drive on without waiting for me.  I shall probably follow you in another hour or two.”

“Very well; please don’t disappoint us if you can help it,” returned Violet, and the carriage drove on, while Captain Raymond walked away in the opposite direction, to give the needed orders to his men.