htful."

"Interesting and delightful?" I interrogated in sheer amazement. This
girl utterly dumfounded me, and in the conceit of youth I thought it
strange that any girl could dumfound me.

"What an interesting life you have had, to be sure!"

"I have had?"

"Yes, don't you know you've been talking in torrents for the past ten
minutes? No? Do you forget?" and she laughed tremulously either from
embarrassment, or cold.

"Well!" said I, befooled into good-humor and laughing back. "If you give
me a day's warning, I'll try to keep up with you."

"Ah! There! I've put you through the ice at last! It's been such hard
work!"

"And I come up badly doused!"

"Stimulated too! You're doing well already!"

"My thanks to my instructor," and catching the spirit of her mockery, I
swept her a courtly bow.

"There! There!" she cried, dropping raillery as soon as I took it up.
"You were cross at the window. I was cross on the flats. You nearly
wrenched my hand off----"

"Can you blame me?" I asked. "And to pay me back you turned my head and
stole my heart----"

"Hush!" she interrupted. "Let's clean the slate and begin again."

"With all my heart, if you'll wear this tartan and stop shivering." I
was not ready to consent to an unconditional surrender.

"I hate your 'ifs' and 'buts' and so-much-given-for-so-much-got," she
exclaimed with an impatient, little stamp, "but--but--" she added
inconsistently, "if--if--you'll keep one end of the plaid for yourself,
I'll take the other."

"Ho--ho! I like 'ifs' and 'buts.' Have you more of that kind?" I
laughed, whisking the fold about us both. Drawing her hand into mine, I
kept it there.

"It isn't so cold as--as that, is it?" asked the voice under the plaid.

"Quite," I returned valiantly, tightening my clasp. She laughed a low,
mellow laugh that set my heart beating to the tune of a trip-hammer. I
felt a great intoxication of strength that might have razed Fort Douglas
to the ground and conquered the whole world, which, I dare say, other
young men have felt when the same kind of weight hung upon their
protection.

"Oh! Little Statue! Why have you been so hard on us?" I began.

"_Us?_" she asked.

"Me--then," and I gulped down my embarrassment.

"Because----"

"Because what?"

"No _what_. Just because!" She was astonished that her decisive reason
did not satisfy.

"Because! A woman's reason!" I scoffed.

"Because! It's the best and wisest and most wholesome reason