wel and went at her task with feverish haste. But her eyes would
stray down the orchard path that led to the barn.

It was only this very morning she had witnessed that strange little
scene there in the dewy, music-thrilled twilight. It seemed so unreal
now that Elizabeth could almost believe she had dreamed it all. She
almost wished she had. For Mr. Coulson was perfection, and Annie was a
little better, and it was rather hard to think of her two paragons
doing anything that people might laugh at. In the Gordon family life
there was something improper attached to any display of affection, and
kissing was positively disgraceful. Elizabeth dared not even kiss
Jamie, much as she enjoyed it, except when the older boys were at a
safe distance. She herself disliked being kissed by grown-up people.
Babies and little people were different. She could remember being
kissed by her aunt once, on her first arrival, but never since. She
and Rosie had sobbed for an hour with their heads on the desk when Mr.
Coulson made his good-by speech, but they would never have dreamed of
doing what Annie did. And surely they loved him far more.

She was recalled to present affairs by Sarah Emily's snatching the
plate out of her hand and demanding if she intended to rub it clean off
the face of the earth?

Elizabeth took another rather sullenly. But such a mood never lasted
longer than half a minute with her, and she was suddenly struck with
the notion that Sarah Emily might furnish some valuable information on
the subject that was worrying her. Sarah Emily had such a vast
experience with young men.

"Sarah Emily," she said, rather hesitatingly, "did anybody--I mean any
young man ever--kiss you?"

Sarah Emily gave an hysterical shriek. She doubled up over the table,
almost dipping her face into the dish-pan, and went off into a
hurricane of giggles.

"Oh, oh, you awful, awful bad girl, Lizzie Gordon!" she screamed,
whereupon Elizabeth knew she had not been bad at all, but had said
something that had mightily pleased Sarah Emily.

"But did they though?" she insisted, showing her even white teeth in a
sympathetic laugh. "Eh, Sarah Emily?"

The young woman straightened herself and suddenly became dignified.

She darted a withering glance at Elizabeth. "Not much, they didn't!"
she cried righteously. "Jist let me ketch any o' them--yes, jist any
one o' the whole gang up to any such penoeuvres. I'd soon fix 'em!"

There was