tool near him, accepting with such evident delight his efforts
at amusing her, that she quite repaid him for his trouble.

After this there seemed to be some connecting link between them. In
default of other attractions, he made headway with Mollie, and was to
some extent consoled. He talked to her when he made his visits, and it
gradually became an understood thing that they were very good friends.
He won her confidence completely,--so far, indeed, that she used to
tell him her troubles, and was ready to accept what meed of praise or
friendly blame he might think fit to bestow upon her.

It was a few weeks after the above-recorded episode that Griffith
arrived one afternoon, in some haste, with a note from Dolly addressed
to Aimee, and containing a few hurried lines. It had been enclosed in a
letter to himself.

Somewhat unexpectedly Miss MacDowlas had decided upon giving a
dinner-party, and Dolly wanted the white merino, which she had forgotten
to put into her trunk when she had packed it. Would they make a parcel
of it and send it by Mollie to Brabazon Lodge?

"You will have to go at once, Mollie," said Aimee, after reading the
note. "It will be dark in an hour, and you ought not to be out after
dark."

"It is a great deal nicer to be out then," said Mol-lie, whose ideas
of propriety were by no means rigid. "I like to see the shop windows
lighted up. Where is my hat? Does anybody know?" rising from the carpet
and abandoning Tod to his own resources.

Nobody did know, of course. It was not natural that anybody should. Hats
and gloves and such small fry were generally left to provide quarters
for themselves in Bloomsbury Place.

"What is the use of bothering?" remarked Mrs. Phil, disposing of the
difficulty of their non-appearance when required, simply; "they always
turn up in time." And in like manner Mollie's hat "turned up," and in
a few minutes she returned to the parlor, tying the elastic under her
hair.

"Your hair wants doing," said Aimee, having made up her parcel.

"Yes," replied Mollie, contentedly, "Tod has been pulling himself up by
it; but it would be such a trouble to do anything to it just now, and I
can tuck it back in a bunch. It only looks a little fuzzy, and that 's
fashionable. Does this jacket look shabby, Aimee? It is a good thing it
has pockets in it. I always _did_ like pockets in a jacket, they are so
nice to put your hands in when your gloves have holes in them."

"Your gloves ough