I 'd like to ask Doctor , but he might find out about the letter . Oh , dear , why did n't I keep still and let the horrid thing alone ! '' As she thought that , Jill pushed the paper away , pulled herself up , and with much painful effort managed to get back to her sofa , where she laid herself down with a groan , feeling as if the twenty years had already passed over her since she tumbled off . `` I 've told a lie , for I said I would n't stir . I 've hurt my back , I 've done a mean thing , and I 've got paid for it . A nice missionary I am ; I 'd better begin at home , as Mammy told me to ; '' and Jill groaned again , remembering her mother 's words . `` Now I 've got another secret to keep all alone , for I 'd be ashamed to tell the girls . I guess I 'll turn round and study my spelling ; then no one will see my face . '' Jill looked the picture of a good , industrious child as she lay with her back to the large table , her book held so that nothing was to be seen but one cheek and a pair of lips moving busily . Fortunately , it is difficult for little sinners to act a part , and , even if the face is hidden , something in the body seems to betray the internal remorse and shame . Usually , Jill lay flat and still ; now her back was bent in a peculiar way as she leaned over her book , and one foot wagged nervously , while on the visible cheek was a Spanish stamp with a woman 's face looking through the black bars , very suggestively , if she had known it . How long the minutes seemed till some one came , and what a queer little jump her heart gave when Mrs. Minot 's voice said , cheerfully , `` Jack is all right , and , I declare , so is Jill . I really believe there is a telegraph still working somewhere between you two , and each knows what the other is about without words . '' `` I did n't have any other book handy , so I thought I 'd study awhile , '' answered Jill , feeling that she deserved no praise for her seeming industry . She cast a sidelong glance as she spoke , and seeing that Mrs. Minot was looking for the letter , hid her face and lay so still she could hear the rustle of the paper as it was taken from the floor . It was well she did not also see the quick look the lady gave her as she turned the letter and found a red stamp sticking to the under side , for this unlucky little witness told the story . Mrs. Minot remembered having seen the stamp lying close to the sofa when she left the room , for she had had half a mind to take it to Jack , but did not , thinking Frank 's plan had some advantages . She also recollected that a paper flew off the table , but being in haste she had not stopped to see what it was . Now , the stamp and the letter could hardly have come together without hands , for they lay a yard apart , and here , also , on the unwritten portion of the page , was the mark of a small green thumb . Jill had been winding wool for a stripe in her new afghan , and the green ball lay on her sofa .
These signs suggested and confirmed what Mrs. XXXXX did not want to believe ; so did the voice , attitude , and air of Jill , all very unlike her usual open , alert ways .
Doctor Frank Jack Jill Minot Spanish left minutes right years