et in her hand.

'That's Dora. Isn't she lovely?' cried Tom, forgetting his tribulations
for a moment and speaking with lover-like ardour.

'Very nice little person to look at. Hope she is not a Dickens Dora?
That curly crop looks like it.'

'Not a bit; she's very smart; can keep house, and sew, and do lots
of things, I assure you, ma'am. All the girls like her, and she's
sweet-tempered and jolly, and sings like a bird, and dances beautifully,
and loves books. Thinks yours are splendid, and made me talk about you
no end.'

'That last sentence is to flatter me and win my help to get you out of
the scrape. Tell me first how you got in'; and Mrs Jo settled herself to
listen with interest, never tired of boys' affairs.

Tom gave his head a rousing rub all over to clear his wits, and plunged
into his story with a will.

'Well, we've met her before, but I didn't know she was there. Demi
wanted to see a fellow, so we went, and finding it nice and cool rested
over Sunday. Found some pleasant people and went out rowing; I had Dora,
and came to grief on a confounded rock. She could swim, no harm done,
only the scare and the spoilt gown. She took it well, and we got
friendly at once--couldn't help it, scrambling into that beast of a boat
while the rest laughed at us. Of course we had to stay another day to
see that Dora was all right. Demi wanted to. Alice Heath is down there
and two other girls from our college, so we sort of lingered along,
and Demi kept taking pictures, and we danced, and got into a tennis
tournament; and that was as good exercise as wheeling, we thought. Fact
is, tennis is a dangerous game, ma'am. A great deal of courting goes
on in those courts, and we fellows find that sort of "serving" mighty
agreeable, don't you know?'

'Not much tennis in my day, but I understand perfectly,' said Mrs Jo,
enjoying it all as much as Tom did.

'Upon my word, I hadn't the least idea of being serious,' he continued
slowly, as if this part of his tale was hard to tell; 'but everyone else
spooned, so I did. Dora seemed to like it and expect it, and of course
I was glad to be agreeable. She thought I amounted to something, though
Nan does not, and it was pleasant to be appreciated after years of
snubbing. Yes, it was right down jolly to have a sweet girl smile at you
all day, and blush prettily when you said a neat thing to her, and look
glad when you came, sorry when you left, and admire all you did, and
make you feel