ld man
chuckled at his own joke. Tom and Debby, though, refused to smile, they
felt that they were being laughed at, and they resented it.

"We ran," explained Tom, formally, "because we--we wanted to get here
before the next train comes in. You--you are so busy when there's a train
in, that there is no chance of talking to you."

"Ay, ay, sir," agreed Mr. Tripp, with a twinkle in his eye, "sometimes I
have one passenger getting out here, sometimes I have as many as four!
Market days there's a reg'lar crowd coming and going."

"Well, you'll have three, at least, by the next train," said Tom,
knowingly.

"O--ho! and you have come to meet them, I suppose. A sort of a pleasant
little surprise for them. I thought you'd come to have a little chat with
me!"

"So we have--both. Father's coming too, and our eldest sister."

"I see, but you came on ahead. You didn't wait for them." A knock at the
door broke in on the conversation. Tom and Debby grew very red, and
looked slightly nervous.

"Tripp, can I speak to you a minute?" Round the door came the vicar's
head.

"Oh--h! I beg your pardon, you are engaged. Hullo! Why, you young
scapegraces, what are you doing here, taking up Mr. Tripp's time, and--and
filling up his office!"

The two scarlet faces lost their nervous look, and became wreathed in
smiles. When daddy spoke like that, all was well.

"The train is signalled, sir," said the station master, and led the way
out to the platform. At that same moment Audrey came sailing down the
road, hurrying as fast as she could, with dignity. She was looking as
dainty and fresh as a flower in her clean white frock. She wore a pretty
sun hat, trimmed with blue ribbon, and the scarf hung around her neck
exactly matched it. Her long hair was tied at the nape of her neck with a
black bow.

"Oh, doesn't Audrey look pretty!" Debby's enthusiastic admiration died
away in a sigh as she looked down over her untidy self, and, for the first
time in her life, she felt ashamed of her appearance.

"I--I wished I'd stayed to wash my hands," she whispered nervously to
Tom, "and had put on my hat, it would have covered up my hair--I never
brushed it."

"Oh, you are all right," responded Tom, consolingly "just button up your
shoes."

"I can't, the buttons are off. Oh! and you haven't got on any tie!
Oh, Tom, what will they think?"

"Well--I couldn't find it. I looked and looked. Here's the engine.
Oh, Deb, doesn't s