Page:Quits - Abbie Farwell Brown.djvu/5

Rh with handkerchief.) Oh, dear, Kit! I half dread to have you do it. We may get into a scrape yet, if Miss Griffin should take it into her head to come too early this afternoon.

. Nonsense! She will be too busy. Besides, it is too late to back out now. The boys will be here in a few minutes, and I haven't had all the bother of this makeup for nothing; not a bit of it! Ahem, now my spectacles, my dear. (Imitating ; hands her the glasses.) Thank you, my child. Do I walk with a stately mien? (Walks stiffly about; then suddenly breaks into a lively skirt-dance.)

. Kittie! Behave.

. Well, I've no doubt she does that often when she's alone. Don't you think so?

. Of course she doesn't. Fancy it! Now, Kittie, do be careful what you say. I don't want Charlie to be too angry with me. And don‘t, don't giggle, whatever you do, or they will be sure to recognize you.

. (indignantly). Giggle! I should say not, or they will think it is you. I never giggle.

. Oh, dear, do you know I am fearfully nervous. I can't help dreading lest something awful should happen this evening. I half believe Miss Grifﬁn suspects something wrong now. I thought she looked queerly at me just now when I spoke of the boys.

. Nonsense! You must have a bad eye. People seem always to look queer to you. So you have said all along, ever since we began to correspond with our brother and cousin under the names of Mabel Warren and Emma Smith. I don't see anything very wrong in that myself, especially when two of us——two of you are as good as engaged already.

. You have no right to say that, Kittie. (Pouting.) But, my dear, don't you see it was the writing under assumed names that made it wrong. The boys didn't know who we were, and even when we wrote from here, saying we were anxious to correspond with two Harvard men, and had selected their names in the catalogue, they never suspected. If they had known—

. It wouldn't have been any fun. Any one can receive love-letters from some one she knows. But, oh, dear! haven't they written some precious nonsense to Mabel and Emma—girls neither they nor any one else ever saw! I believe you are half jealous of Emma yourself, Gladys.

. Charlie never wrote Emma such stuff as Fred did to Mabel. But you provoked him, anyway. Well, the whole thing was really your fault, Kittie, for you began it. But I am willing to take my half the blame—the Emmaginary half, you know.

. (grimly). Ha, ha! I laugh. But, Gladys, see that you don't tell till to-night just before Miss Grifﬁn comes, even if Charlie is most coaxing and nice. For he can be nice, I suppose, can't he?

. (musingly). Oh. yes; he can.