g Hide the Thimble, and the
others lost the Scotch Captain and me in the

armory. He is a peck of fun. This morning he left for the North, and
do you think the grate Mr. Impudence did not buss us both; Aileen
because she is his cousin a hundred times removed and me because (what
a reason!) "my eyes dared him." Of course I was in a vast rage, which
seemed to hily delight Captain Impudence. I don't see how he dared
take so grate a preaviledge. Do you?

Aileen is almost drest, and I must go smart myself. My dear, an you
love me, write to

Your own CLOE.

P. S.--Lard, I clear forgot! 'Tis a secret that the Scotch enchantress
is here. You must be sure not to mention it, my dear, to your Sir
Robert, But la! I have the utmost confidence in your discretion.

Conceive my dismay! Discretion and Antoinette Westerleigh were as far
apart as the poles. What more likely than that the dashing little minx
would undertake to rally her lover about Aileen, and that the adroit
baronet would worm out of her the information he desired? The letter
crystallized my desire to set out at once for Montagu Grange, and from
there to take the road with Miss Macleod hotspur for Scotland. It appeared
to me that the sooner we were out of England the better it would be for
both of us.

I made the journey to the Grange by easy stages, following so far as I
could little used roads and lanes on account of a modest desire to avoid
publicity. 'Twas early morning when I reached the Grange. I remember the
birds were twittering a chorus as I rode under the great oaks to the
house. Early as it was, Cloe and Aileen were already walking in the garden
with their arms entwined about each other's waists in girl fashion. They
made a picture taking enough to have satisfied a jaded connoisseur of
beauty: the fair tall Highland lass, jimp as a willow wand, with the
long-lashed blue eyes that looked out so shyly and yet so frankly on those
she liked, and the merry brown-eyed English girl so ready of saucy tongue,
so worldly wise and yet so innocent of heart.

Cloe came running to meet me in a flutter of excitement and Mistress
Aileen followed more demurely down the path, though there was a Highland
welcome in her frank face not to be denied. I slid from the horse and
kissed Cloe. Miss Macleod gave me her hand.

"We are hoping you are quite well from your wounds," she said.

"Quite," I a