"Flora dressed up
in her mother's things, and then came up the stairs to our room. She was
determined to make us think she had a truly ghost in her house. Then
when you called out, she got frightened and stumbled on the stairs. You
know we heard someone fall and cry out. Of course it was Flora. Nobody
seems to know how she got hurt. The minute I saw that plumed hat I knew
just the trick she had played. I knew there wasn't a ghost," Grace
concluded triumphantly.
Sylvia felt almost disappointed that it had not really been "Lady
Caroline." She wondered why Flora had wanted to deceive them.
"I don't think it was fair," she said slowly.
"Of course it wasn't fair. I wouldn't have believed that a Charleston
girl would do such a mean trick," declared Grace. "Of course, as we were
her company, we can't let her know that we have found her out."
"Perhaps she meant to tell us, anyway," suggested Sylvia hopefully. "I'm
sure she did. She thought it would make us laugh."
"Well, then why didn't she?" asked Grace.
Sylvia's face clouded; she could not answer this question, but she was
sure that Flora had not meant to frighten or really deceive them, and
she wanted to defend her absent friend.
"Well, Grace, we know Flora wouldn't do anything mean. And, you see, she
got hurt, and so she's just waiting to get well before she tells us of
the joke. You wait and see. Flora will tell us just as soon as we see
her again."
There was a little note of entreaty in Sylvia's voice, as if she were
pleading with Grace not to blame Flora.
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