. On observing Alice, he started up, and assuming a
cheerful look, ran to meet her.

"Oh! I'm so glad to find you here, Corrie," cried Alice, hastening
forward; "I'm in such distress! Do you know that--Oh! I forgot papa said
I was to tell nobody about it!"

"Don't let that trouble you, Alice," said Corrie, as they sat down
together under the tree. "I know what you were about to say,--Henry and
his mother are going away."

"How do you know that? I thought it was a great secret!"

"So it is, a _tremendous_ secret," rejoined Corrie, with a look that was
intended to be very mysterious; "and I know it, because I've been let
into the secret for reasons which I cannot tell even to you. But there
is another secret which you don't know yet, and which will surprise you
perhaps, _I_ am going away, too."

"You!" exclaimed the little girl, her eyes dilating to their full size.

"Aye--me!"

"You're jesting, Corrie."

"Am I? I wish I was; but it's a fact."

"But where are you going to?" said Alice, her eyes filling with tears.

"I don't know."

"Corrie!"

"I tell you, I don't know; and if I did know, I couldn't tell. Listen,
Alice; I will tell you as much as I am permitted to let out."

The boy became extremely solemn at this point, took the little girl's
hand, and gazed into her face as he spoke.

"You must know," he began, "that Henry and his mother and I go away
to-night--"

"To-night?" cried Alice, quickly.

"To-night," repeated the boy. "Bumpus and Jakolu go with us. I have said
that I don't know where we are going to, but I am pretty safe in
assuring you that we are going somewhere. Why we are going I am
forbidden to tell,--divulge, I think Henry called it; but what that
means I don't know. I can only guess it's another word for tell; and yet
it can't be that either, for you can speak of _telling_ lies, but you
can't speak of _divulging_ them. However, that don't matter. But I'm not
forbidden to tell you why I'm going away. In the first place, then, I'm
going to seek my fortune! Where I'm to find it remains to be seen. The
only thing I know is, that I mean to find it somewhere or other, and
then" (here Corrie because very impressive) "come back and live beside
you and your father,--not to speak of Poopy and Toozle."

Alice smiled sadly at this. Corrie looked graver than ever, and went on:

"Meanwhile, during my absence I will write letters to you, and you'll
write ditto to me. I am going away because I oug