“Yes,” added Belle; “and mother said we could go this afternoon and select some motor things for ourselves at madam’s.  Isn’t that just too sweet of her?”

“Lovely!” cried Cora, giving the twins a little hug in turn.

“Here, quit that in public.  Want to make a fellow jealous?” demanded Jack.

“Oh—­you—­” began Belle with an arch look at Cora’s brother.

“Now we’re going to take a preliminary look at things with you, Cora,” said Bess.  “I’m just dying to get a certain bonnet that I saw in the window.”

“Toot-toot!  Farewell!” cried Jack, as he puffed in imitation of an auto and turned up the street.

“Do you know,” began Cora as soon as her brother was safely out of sight, “speaking of that robbery, I have been thinking lately how strange it was that Ida, Mary and Sid should have been talking so seriously behind my car when I happened to look around and see them.  Mary’s face flushed, and Ida immediately walked away.”

“Is that so?” demanded Bess.

“Yes, and I have been puzzling over it for some time.”

“I overheard some of the things they said,” declared Belle.  “I think Sid was trying to get Mary and Ida to promise to go out for a ride with him that evening.  Ida refused, and Mary—­well, I didn’t hear just what she said—­but it wasn’t no, I’m sure.”

“But they all three looked so—­so guilty,” went on Cora.  “It was exactly as if they didn’t want to be discovered.”

“Maybe Sid was ashamed to be seen asking Mary to go for a ride.  You know, he’s reported to be well off, and Mary—­well, she’s a dear, sweet little girl, but she works for a living, and you know what a fellow like Sid thinks of working girls.”

“I thought I heard Sid saying something about hiring a machine to take them out in,” went on Belle.

“Well, maybe we’ll get a chance to ask Mary about it when we get to madam’s,” said Cora.  “She’ll be sent in to help us try on our things.”

They were soon in front of the shop with the big’ glass front—­the only real, big glass front in Chelton—­and behind the plate was displayed a single hat—­a creation—­as Madam Julia described it.  Madam Julia was very exclusive.

The door-boy, a dapper little colored chap, in an exceedingly tight-fitting suit of blue, with innumerable brass buttons on it, in double rows in front, in triple rows behind, and in single rows on sleeves, opened the portal for the young ladies, bowing low as he did so.

“I guess this is Mary coming now,” said Cora in a low voice as she heard some one approaching from behind the silken draperies that separated part of the shop.

But the three customers looked up in surprise when a strange young girl appeared through the parted curtains.

“Miss Kimball,” said Cora, announcing her own name, for she had an appointment.

“Oh, yes,” was the girl’s answer.  “I will tell madam.”