"Well, go on," said Katherine, unabashed.

"I merely mention this detail," continued Dorothy, "as an object
lesson in honesty. Never before since the world began was there such a
case of casting bread upon the waters as was my sending the two
hundred dollars. My uncle appears to have been a most methodical man.
He filed away my letter which contained the money, also a typewritten
copy of his reply, and when he died, it was these documents which
turned the attention of the legal arm who acted for him to myself, for
my uncle had left no will. The Californian firm communicated with
lawyers in New York, and they began a series of very cautious
inquiries, which at last resulted, after I had furnished certain
proofs asked for, in my being declared heiress to my uncle's estate."

"And how much did you get? How much did you get?" demanded Katherine.

"I asked the lawyers from New York to deposit ten thousand dollars for
me in the Sixth National Bank of this town, and they did so. It was to
draw a little check against that deposit, and thus learn if it was
real, that I went out to-day."

"Ten thousand dollars," murmured Katherine, in accents of deep
disappointment. "Is that all?"

"Isn't that enough?" asked Dorothy, with a twinkle in her eyes.

"No, you deserve ten times as much, and I'm not going to New York or
Boston at your expense to buy new dresses. Not likely! I will attend
the ball in my calico."