"Then what do you mean by coming here and telling me she wasn't,
and frightening me half to death?" demanded Miss Rosetta,
indignantly. "My own heart isn't very strong--it runs in our
family--and my doctor warned me to avoid all shocks and
excitement. I don't want to be excited, Mr. Patterson. I won't
be excited, not even if Charlotte has another spell. It's
perfectly useless for you to try to excite me, Mr. Patterson."

"Bless the woman, I'm not trying to excite anybody!" declared Mr.
Patterson in exasperation. "I merely called to tell you--"

"To tell me WHAT?" said Miss Rosetta. "How much longer do you
mean to keep me in suspense, Mr. Patterson. No doubt you have
abundance of spare time, but--I--have NOT."

"--that your sister, Mrs. Wheeler, has had a letter from a cousin
of yours, and she's in Charlottetown. Mrs. Roberts, I think her
name is--"

"Jane Roberts," broke in Miss Rosetta. "Jane Ellis she was,
before she was married. What was she writing to Charlotte about?
Not that I want to know, of course. I'm not interested in
Charlotte's correspondence, goodness knows. But if Jane had
anything in particular to write about she should have written to
ME. I am the oldest. Charlotte had no business to get a letter
from Jane Roberts without consulting me. It's just like her
underhanded ways. She got married the same way. Never said a
word to me about it, but just sneaked off with that unprincipled
Jacob Wheeler--"