o-face communion with her Lord; and she
rose and went about her preparations for the night. Then, just as she
had taken down her hair and was brushing it in a silver cloud about
her shoulders, she heard a car drive up. A moment more a key turned in
the latch, and some one came in.

Julia Cloud stood with the hair-brush poised half-way down a strand of
hair, and listened. Yes, the car had gone on to the garage. What could
have happened?

CHAPTER XVIII

It was all still below stairs, then a soft, stealthy silken movement,
cautiously coming up the stairs. Julia Cloud went quickly to the hall
door, and switched on the light. On the landing stood Leslie, lovely
and flushed, with her hair slightly ruffled and her velvet evening
cloak thrown back, showing the rosy mist of her dress. She stood with
one silver slipper poised on the stairs, a sweet, guilty look on her
face.

"O Cloudy! I thought you were asleep, and I didn't want to waken you,"
she said, penitently; "but you haven't gone to bed yet, have you? I'm
glad. We wanted you to know we were home."

"Is anything the matter?" Julia Cloud asked with a stricture of
emotion in her throat.

"No; only we got tired, and we didn't want to stay to their old party,
anyway, and we'd rather be home." Leslie sprang up the stairs, and
caught her aunt in her arms with one of her sweet, violent kisses.

"O my dear!" was all Julia Cloud could say. And then they heard
Allison closing the door softly below, and creaking across the floor
and up the stairs.

"Oh, you waked her up!" he said reproachfully as he caught sight of
his sister in Julia Cloud's arms.

"No, you're wrong. She hadn't even gone to bed yet. I knew she
wouldn't," said Leslie, nestling closer. "Say, Cloudy, we're not going
to trouble you that way again. It isn't worth it. We don't like their
old dancing, anyway. I couldn't forget the way you looked so hurt--and
the things you said. Won't you please come down to the fire awhile?
We want to tell you about it."

Down on the couch, with Allison stirring up the dying embers and
Leslie nestled close to her, Julia Cloud heard bits about the
evening.

"It wasn't bad, Cloudy, 'deed it wasn't. They dance a lot nicer in
colleges than they do other places. I know, for I've been to lots of
dances, and I never let men get too familiar. Allison taught me that
when I was little. That's why what you said made me so mad. I've
always been a lot carefuller than you'd thin