f you
like me as well as you thought you would?"

Taking the key he relinquished, and without looking at him, she replied,
"Yes; and suppose I ask you the same question, what would you say,
politeness aside?"

"I should answer." wrote Clem, his eyes on the sounder, "that I have
found the very little girl expected!"

And then their eyes met, and Nattie hastily rose and walked to the
window, for no ostensible purpose, and Clem said, going after her,

"It _is_ nicer talking on the wire, isn't it?"

Nattie was saved the necessity of replying by some one down the line who
just then inquired,

"Who was that talking soft nonsense just now? We don't allow that sort
of thing here!"

"How impertinent!" exclaimed Nattie.

"Possibly our red-headed friend is somewhere about," Clem said; then
taking the key, responded to the unknown questioner,

"Don't trouble yourself; I shall not talk soft nonsense to you!"

"That sounds like 'C's' writing! Is it?" was asked quickly.

"My style must be very peculiar to be so readily detected," Clem said to
Nattie, laughingly; then replied on the wire, "If you will sign I will
tell you."

"Em."

"Ah!" said Clem, and immediately acknowledged himself. Then followed a
short chat with "Em," in which she endeavored to make him confess what
office he was then sending from, which he persistently refused to do.

Having bade "Em" good-by, and closed the key, he said to Nattie,
verbally, "We ought to have a private wire of our own, since a wire is
so necessary to our happiness! I see," glancing around the office, "that
you have an extra key and sounder here."

"Yes;" Nattie replied, "we had at one time a railroad wire, and when it
was taken out, the instruments were left, and have been here ever
since."

"Do you suppose you could take them home--to practice on, say?" queried
Clem, a sparkle in his brown eyes.

"Doubtless, if I asked permission, they would allow me that privilege;
why?" asked Nattie, curiously.

"I have a brilliant idea!" replied Clem, gayly. "But do not be alarmed,
I am used to it, as Quimby would say; it is this. I myself have a key
and sounder, relics of college days, beauties, too, and if you can take
home those over there, we will have telegraphic communication from your
room to ours, immediately. The wire and battery I will fix all right,
and when Cyn is out, and you can't come over, and at odd times, we will
have some of our old chats."

"But," said Nattie, hes