hysteric little laugh she only said, "Run, Clarence, run," and
again darted forward. Arriving at the cross-street, they turned the
corner, and halted breathlessly.

"But you're not running away from school, Susy, are you?" said Clarence
anxiously.

"Only a little bit. Just enough to get ahead of the other girls," she
said, rearranging her brown curls and tilted hat. "You see, Clarence,"
she condescended to explain, with a sudden assumption of older
superiority, "mother's here at the hotel all this week, and I'm allowed
to go home every night, like a day scholar. Only there's three or
four other girls that go out at the same time with me, and one of the
Sisters, and to-day I got ahead of 'em just to see YOU."

"But" began Clarence.

"Oh, it's all right; the other girls knew it, and helped me. They don't
start out for half an hour yet, and they'll say I've just run ahead, and
when they and the Sister get to the hotel I'll be there already--don't
you see?"

"Yes," said Clarence dubiously.

"And we'll go to an ice-cream saloon now, shan't we? There's a nice one
near the hotel. I've got some money," she added quickly, as Clarence
looked embarrassed.

"So have I," said Clarence, with a faint accession of color. "Let's go!"
She had relinquished his hand to smooth out her frock, and they were
walking side by side at a more moderate pace. "But," he continued,
clinging to his first idea with masculine persistence, and anxious to
assure his companion of his power, of his position, "I'm in the college,
and Father Sobriente, who knows your lady superior, is a good friend
of mine and gives me privileges; and--and--when he knows that you and
I used to play together--why, he'll fix it that we may see each other
whenever we want."

"Oh, you silly!" said Susy. "WHAT!--when you're--"

"When I'm WHAT?"

The young girl shot a violet blue ray from under her broad hat.
"Why--when we're grown up now?" Then with a certain precision, "Why,
they're VERY particular about young gentlemen! Why, Clarence, if they
suspected that you and I were--" Another violet ray from under the hat
completed this unfinished sentence.

Pleased and yet confused, Clarence looked straight ahead with deepening
color. "Why," continued Susy, "Mary Rogers, that was walking with me,
thought you were ever so old--and a distinguished Spaniard! And I,"
she said abruptly--"haven't I grown? Tell me, Clarence," with her old
appealing impatience, "haven't I grown? D