d to walk with the girls! But never mind.
If you won't go very far or stay too long, I suppose I must pay my
actors in some fashion for their services, and I have had no opportunity
to thank you."

Then, as she moved away, she called back:

"Don't forget to take your coat or a sweater with you, Gerry; it may
turn unexpectedly cool."

So Gerry, feeling that her face was flushing crimson and her hands
becoming like ice, was able to disappear inside her tent at the moment
she desired.

When she came out with her satchel the coat was hanging over it;
besides, there was no one in sight to observe her own and Felipe's
departure.

But the moment they started Felipe said quickly:

"Don't be worried, Gerry darling. I have a motor waiting for us about a
mile away and my old nurse is there to take care of you. Her husband is
with her and they are perfectly respectable and devoted to me. They will
come back as soon as we are safely married and let Mrs. Burton and
father know. They can't tell them _where_ we have gone, of course. They
can simply say we have gone on a honeymoon. It will be all right. Lots
of people run away and are married; it saves such a lot of fuss for one
thing. Later on, if you like, we can write where we are, because neither
Mrs. Burton nor father would betray us. I want, if possible, to cross
over the border into Mexico tonight at dusk."

The rest of the afternoon passed like a strange and not a happy dream to
Gerry.

But whatever arrangements were necessary, whatever the law required of
them, Felipe seemed to have managed all the formalities. As they drove
from one place to another Gerry sat in the back of the automobile next
to Felipe's old nurse, not even making an effort to talk to her and
saying nothing to Felipe. Now and then Felipe made little anxious
inquiries to find out if she were all right and Gerry only nodded her
head in reply.

In the house of a clergyman in a small town not many miles away the
ceremony was finally performed. Gerry declared that her parents had
given their consent, knowing well enough they would be delighted to hear
of her marriage. Felipe Morris was of course several years more than the
legal age. Besides Felipe's nurse and her husband the wife and daughter
of the clergyman also appeared as witnesses.

But when the moment came for parting with their companions, Gerry begged
that she be allowed to write a note to Mrs. Burton. The note was very
short; Gerry scarcely