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Old Man Smith jingled his hands at her.

“There–There–There, my Pretty!” he said. “Never mind–Never mind!”

He opened his hands. There were some little teeny-tiny pieces of plain glass in his hands. Little round knobs like beads they were. Very shining. They made a nice jingle.

When Annie Halliway saw them she screamed! And snatched them in her hand! And threw them away just as far as she could! All over the grass she threw them!

“I will not!” she screamed. “I will not! I will not!” Her tears were awful.

When she got through screaming her face looked like a wet cloth that had everything else wrung out of it except shadows.

“Where–is–Harry?” said Old Man Smith. He said it very slowly. And then all over again. “Where–is–Harry?–You wouldn’t have dar’st not tell him if you’d known.”

Annie Halliway started to pick up some blue glass again. Then she stopped and looked all around her. It was a jerky stop. Her jaw sort of dropped.

“Harry–is–in–prison!” she said. Even though she’d said it herself she seemed to be awfully surprised at the news. She shook and shook her head as though she was trying to wake up the idea that was asleep. Her eyes were all scrunched up now with trying to remember about it. She dragged the back of her hands across her forehead. First one hand and then the other. She opened her eyes very wide again and looked at Old Man Smith.

“Where–is–Harry?” said Old Man Smith.

Annie Halliway never took her eyes from Old Man Smith’s face.

“It–It was the night we crossed the border from France to Spain,” she said. Her voice sounded very funny and far away. It sounded like reciting a lesson too. “There were seven of us and a teacher from the Paris art school,” she recited. “It–It was the March holiday.—-There–There–was a woman—-a strange woman in the next compartment who made friends with me.–She seemed to be crazy over my hair.–She asked if she might braid it for the night.”

Without any tears at all Annie Halliway began to sob again.

“When they waked us up at the Customs,” she sobbed, “Harry came running! His face was awful! ‘She’s braided diamonds in your hair!’ he cried. ‘I heard her talking with her accomplice! A hundred thousand dollars’ worth of diamonds! Smugglers and murderers both they are!–Everybody will be searched!’–He tore at my braids! I tore at my braids! The diamonds rattled out! Harry tried to catch them!–He pushed me back into the train! I saw soldiers running!–I thought they were going to shoot him! He thought they were going to shoot him!–I saw his eyes!–He looked so–so surprised!–I’d never noticed before how blue his eyes were!–I tell you I saw his eyes!–I couldn’t speak!–There wasn’t anybody to explain just why he had his hands full of diamonds!–I saw his eyes! I tell you I couldn’t speak!–I tell you I never spoke!–My tongue went dead in my mouth! For months I never spoke!–I’ve only just begun to speak again!–I’ve only just—-“

She started to jump up from the ground where she was sitting! She couldn’t!–She had braided Old Man Smith and his wheel chair into her hair! When she saw what she had done she toppled right over on her face! And fainted all out!

Over behind the lilac bush somebody screamed.

It was Annie Halliway’s Mother! With her was a strange gentleman who had come all the way from New York to try and cure Annie Halliway. The strange gentleman was some special kind of a doctor.

“Hush–Hush!” the Special Doctor kept saying to everybody. “This is a very crucial moment! Can’t you see that this a very crucial moment?” He pointed to Annie Halliway on the grass. Her Mother knelt beside her trying very hard to comb Old Man Smith and his wheel-chair out of her pig-tail. “Speak to her!” said the Doctor. “Speak to her very gently!”

“Annie?” cried her Mother. “Annie?–Annie–Annie?”

Annie Halliway opened her eyes very slowly and looked up. It was a brand new kind of a look. It had a bottom to it instead of being just through and through and through. There was a little smile in it too. It was a pretty look.