"He's come!" She was not mistaken, for, upon the little veranda, Russell stood facing the closed door at last.

However, it remained closed for a considerable time after he rang.

Inside the house the warning summons of the bell was immediately followed by another sound, audible to Alice and her father as a crash preceding a series of muffled falls.

Then came a distant voice, bitter in complaint.
"Oh, Lord!" said Adams.

"What's that ?" Alice went to the top of the front stairs, and her mother appeared in the hall below.
"Mama!" Mrs.Adams looked up.