rt in the play, "if
you're scared to come with me girls, you needn't, but I can't wait--"

"Look here, Trooper," cried Duke, "hop in there and drive them kids
home. That car at McKenzies looks like a thrashin' machine an' that
mare'll go clean crazy. Here Christine, here's Trooper, he'll go with
you."

"Oh, do come, Trooper," cried Maggie Blair tremulously, "Christine's a
reckless driver and Dolly's dreadful with cars."

Christina sat looking on at the little comedy, laughing and wondering
what its outcome was to be.

Just then Mrs. Johnnie Dunn came honking home from town and stormed
past the store. Dolly would not have so much as switched her tail and
the little play all arranged for Wallace Sutherland would have been
spoiled had Trooper not come to its rescue. He gave a heroic leap to
the mare's head, clutching her bridle and shouting:

"Whoa, Dolly, whoa now! Whoa there!" Marmaduke joined him, calling on
Christina to hold tight. The mild Dolly was really startled and jerked
up her head and pranced about in a very realistic manner indeed, and it
took some patting and coaxing to get her quieted.

"Now, look at that, Christine!" cried Tilly, who was not in the play,
and had screamed quite spontaneously.

"Well," cried Bell, coming forward nobly with her part, "that settles
it for me. Trooper won't come, he's scared Joanna'll see him, so I'm
going to walk. You'll have to risk it yourself, Christine."

"Aw, come along and drive us home, Trooper," cried Maggie. "I'm just
too tired to walk up the hill."

"Say, I would now, but I can't leave here, girls. I was to meet
Captain Morris here at five." He turned as if with a sudden
inspiration. "Here, now. Here's Mr. Sutherland. Why don't you ask
him to drive you? He's the very fellow for the job. Can't you drive
these girls up the hill, Wallace? Here they are all scared to death,
man."

"The very job for me!" cried Wallace gallantly. "I'll drive you across
Canada if you'll let me, Miss Christine. Hop in girls. Is there room
for us all?"

For a moment Christina hesitated, a moment of weakness. She had
suddenly seen through the joke. It was a plan to get Wallace to drive
off with the girls right under his mother's nose. She felt too deeply
on the subject to take part in any such foolish jest. But she could
not very well stop the impetuous young man who had scrambled into the
buggy, and was now seated between her and Bell, while Maggie placed