ving you, shouldn't we, Stephen?"

Stephen, so suddenly appealed to, turned very red and answered "Yes" in
a tone that seemed to come gruffly from way down inside his chest, and
then to the sound of hasty farewells the car started and shot out into
the village street and the campus with its rainbow-hued occupants was
lost to sight.

"A charming girl, isn't she?" Mrs. Tolman said to her husband. "So
natural and unaffected! Doris says that she is quite the idol of the
college and bids fair to be class president. I wish Doris would bring
her home for the holidays."

Inwardly Steve echoed the sentiment but outwardly he preserved silence.
He was too human a boy to dwell long on thoughts of any girl and soon
Jane Harden was quite forgotten in the satisfaction of a steaming dinner
and a comfortable bed, and the fairy journey of the next day when amid a
splendor of crimson and gold the glories of Jacob's Ladder and the
Mohawk Trail stretched before his eyes.

Within the week the big red car headed for Coventry and without a mishap
rolled into the familiar main street of the town which never had seemed
dearer than after the interval of absence. As the automobile sped past,
friendly faces nodded from the sidewalks and hands were waved in
greeting. Presently his mother called from the tonneau:

"Isn't that the Taylors' car, Henry, coming toward us? If it is do stop,
for I want to speak to them."

Mr. Tolman nodded and slowed down the engine, at the same time putting
out his hand to bring the on-coming car to a standstill. Yes, there were
the Taylors, and on the front seat beside the chauffeur sat "But," the
friend who had been most influential in coaxing Stephen into the dilemma
of the past fortnight. It was Bud, Steve could not forget, who had been
the first to drop out of the car when trouble had befallen and who had
led the other boys off on foot with him to Torrington. The memory of his
chum's treacherous conduct still rankled in Steve's mind. He had not
spoken to him since. But now here the two boys were face to face and
unless they were to betray to their parents that something was wrong
they must meet with at least a semblance of cordiality. The question was
which of them should be the first to make the advance.

Twice Bud cleared his throat and appeared to be on the verge of uttering
a greeting when he encountered Stephen's scowl and lost courage to call
the customary: "Ah, there, Stevie!"

And Stephen, feeling th