so--" She stopped and sobbed a little under her
breath.

Jackie said nothing. He was evidently wondering why she had not given
him this nice thing. The reason was such a dreadful reason, and it was
so hard not to be able to explain it all to him, that Mary could not
keep back her tears: she bit her lip, and screwed up her face, but it
was useless, they would come, so she leant her forehead against Jackie's
velveteen shoulder, and cried in good earnest, without saying another
word. Jackie was both startled and uncomfortable; the tree quite shook
with the violence of Mary's sobs, and her long hair got into his eyes
and tickled his face as he sat, screwed up close to her in the narrow
perch. He did not mind that, but he was very sorry indeed to see her so
unhappy, and could not think how to comfort her. Lately he had seen her
cry several times, but never as badly as this. What could be the
matter? With some difficulty he tugged out of his pocket a small
handkerchief, which by a lucky chance was perfectly clean, and, raising
her face a little, dabbed her eyes softly with it.

"Don't," he whispered. "I like the shoe awfully--_much_ better than the
other thing you were going to give me. Don't cry."

But Mary cried on.

"You don't surely mind what that owl of a Fraulein said, do you?"
continued Jackie.

"N-no," said Mary.

"What are you crying for, then?"

If she could only tell him!

"Is it anything about the Secret?" asked Jackie.

No answer.

"I expect it is," he went on in an excited whisper. "But you ought to
tell me, you know, however horrid it is. Is it horrid?"

Mary nodded. There was comfort even in that, though she must not say
anything.

Jackie leant eagerly forward. Splash! Fell a great rain-drop on the
tip of his nose, and a pelting shower quickly followed. Patter, patter,
fell the fast-falling rain on the leaves above the children's heads,
sprinkling Mary's yellow hair and Jackie's best velveteen suit.

"We must go in," he said; "all the others have gone. _Won't_ you just
tell me first?"

"I can't tell you," said Mary mournfully. "And I don't want to go in.
I should like to stop here always."

"Well, you couldn't do that, you know," said Jackie gravely. "There's
no roof, and you'd get wet through, and hungry too. Come along."

He gave her hand a gentle pull, and prepared to descend. As he
cautiously lowered one leg, a woman with a shawl over her head came
running down the