" As he spoke, he
gathered Flea's black curls into his fingers and cut them off boylike to
her head. "If Pappy Lon catches us," he went on, "he'll knock hell out
of us both."

The girl, having surrendered her spirit of command, crawled into the
trousers and donned the blue shirt. After extinguishing the candle,
which Flukey slipped into his pocket, they clambered out of the cave,
leaving the rocky floor strewn with locks of hair, and stole softly
along the shore toward the college hill.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Horace Shellington, newly fledged attorney and counsellor-at-law, sat in
his luxurious library, his feet cocked upon the desk in true bachelor
fashion. He was apparently deep in thought, his handsome head resting
against the back of the chair, when his meditations were broken by a
knock at the door.

"Come in. Is it you, Sis?" he said.

"Yes, Dear," was the answer as the girl entered. "Everett wants us to go
in his party to the Dryden fair. Would you like to?"

Horace glanced up quizzically and smiled as the blush mounted to her
fair hair. "The question, Ann dear, rests with you."

"I never tire being with Everett," Ann said slowly.

"That's because you're in love with him, Sis. When a girl is in love she
always wants to be with the lucky chap."

"And doesn't he want to be with her?" demanded Ann eagerly.

"Of course. And, Ann, I shouldn't ask for a better fellow than Everett
is, only that I don't want you to leave me right away. Without you,
Dear, I think I should die of the blue devils!"

"Do you want me to stay at home until you, too, get ready to marry?" Ann
asked laughingly. "I'm afraid I should never have a chance to help
Everett make a home if you did; for you simply won't like any of the
girls I know."

"I want to get well started in my profession before I think of
marrying. I am happy over the fact that I have been able to enter
Vandecar's law office. He's the strongest man in the state in his line,
and it means New York for me some day. Vandecar is even more powerful
than Brimbecomb."

"I'm glad for you, Horace, because it seems to me that you have an
opportunity that few men have. Nothing can ever keep you back! And you
are so very young, Dear!"

"No, nothing can keep me back now, Ann. Sit down, do."

"Not now, Dear; I'll run away from you, and tell Everett that you will
go to Dryden with us--and I do hope that the weather will be fine!"

Ann tripped out, her heart light with conten