And as Dolores struggled through the bushes, she saw the whole family
dashing into an outhouse, and the door slammed. She pushed against it,
but an unearthly compound of howls, yells, shouts and bangs replied.

'Gillian! Harry, I say,' she cried in great anger; 'come out, I want
to speak to you.'

But her voice was lost in the war-whoops within, and the louder she
knocked, the louder grew the din, till she walked off, swelling with
grief and indignation. Mysie, after all her professions of friendship,
to use her in this way! And Harry and Gillian, who should have kept
the others within bounds!

Slowly she crossed the lawn, just as Lady Merrifield, the other two
aunts, and Fergus, all came out from the glass door of the drawing-
room. Aunt Jane, a trim little dark-eyed woman, looking at two and
forty much the same as she might have done at five and twenty; and Aunt
Adeline, pretty and delicately fair, with somewhat of the same grace as
Lady Merrifield, but more languor, and an air as if everything about
her were for effect. Though not specially fond of theses aunts,
Dolores was glad to have them as witnesses of her ill-usage.

'There stands Dolly, like a statue of Diana, dart in hand,' exclaimed
Aunt Adeline.

'Yes,' said Dolores; 'I wish to know, Aunt Lilias, if Wilfred and
Valetta are to call me names, and shoot arrows at me?'

'What do you mean, my dear?'