efore it was fairly light we had dressed ourselves and
hurried off.

"Oh, Stell!" cried my tall sister, "let us never say we haven't had an
adventure! No novel I ever read was half so exciting. I feel quite like
a heroine, don't you?"

"I think the little Frenchwoman is more the heroine of the piece."

"Yes, so she is; and she ought to be. Isn't she a charming, graceful,
pretty creature?"

"She is pretty," said I, hurrying along to keep pace with Lilly's long
steps, "but there was something about her I did not quite like. It
seemed to me she had a sort of common look, in spite of her fine dress."

"Common! Well, Stell, you had better not say anything more!" said Lilly
with crushing emphasis.

"It was so queer," persisted I, "that she made us promise not to say
anything to Mrs. Long!"

"Oh, that will all be explained."

"I felt like a conspirator stealing out of the house this morning."

"As if we don't go to the French market whenever we like! And there's
certainly no harm in going to meet a _lady_. If it had been a young man
now!" and Lilly's laugh rang out gayly.

The French market was as pretty and bright as usual, though it was the
dull Ash Wednesday morning. The long line of stalls was bright with
fruits and flowers, and walking about, buying, staring, chatting,
drinking coffee, eating oranges, were people of almost every nationality
under heaven. However, the unique interest of the scene, this morning
at least, was thrown away upon us. In the crowd we soon distinguished
the figure of the little Frenchwoman, and joined her at once. She had on
a close black bonnet and a veil, and did not look nearly so pretty as
she had looked the night before. Her skin lacked delicacy, and there was
a haggard look about her eyes.

"Mes cheres demoiselles," she exclaimed, "I have thought of nothing all
night but of seeing you here this morning."

We very truthfully assured her that such had been the case with
ourselves.

"You did not wear them?" exclaimed she, looking at Lilly's ears.

"I meant to," said Lilly with a start, "but getting off in such a hurry,
and never wearing them in the morning, I forgot to put them in."

"Ah, yes: they are too handsome for morning. You have ze good taste,
mademoiselle. Come, now, let us take some coffee together, then we can
go over where it is quiet and talk."

She took us to an old Frenchwoman's stand, and we each drank a cup of
the strong black coffee, which she insisted on p