and arranged to meet the girls in
time to take them to the theatre. Kate felt it would be useless to
resist further, and agreed to go with them without further demur,
putting her vague fears out of mind as far as she could, and determined
to enjoy herself as much as possible.

Just as William had left the shop, Mrs. Maple came in and filled two
bags with pastry and buns. "There, you had better take these home with
you," she said, when she had filled the last, and speaking to Marion.

"Thank you, ma'am, I am much obliged; father will be pleased," said
Marion, but Kate felt thankful she was on the other side of the shop,
and could hide her tell-tale face, for she knew she blushed with shame
at the way they were deceiving their kind mistress.

When they went up to put their things on after tea, she said, "Oh,
Marion, I feel like a thief, taking these things for your father, and
we know he will never see them."

"There, make haste and pack away one lot in your bag, and hold your
tongue," said Marion, impatiently.

"What shall we do with all these?" asked Kate; "Mrs. Maple has given us
such a lot."

"Why, eat them, to be sure; William and the rest will help us. There,
you put as many as you can in your bag, and we'll save them to eat when
we come out, and they must take the rest between them," said Marion.

Kate filled her leather bag and Marion took those that were soon to be
disposed of, and with a parting word from Mrs. Maple not to be very
late, the girls set off.

Their friends were waiting for them at the corner of the street, and
when they reached the doors of the theatre they were joined by several
other smartly-dressed young men, who paid for their seats, and to whom
money seemed of very little account. They condescended to laugh and
chat with the two girls and eat some of the pastry, and Marion felt
immensely flattered by their attentions.

Kate was in a state of bewilderment the whole evening. She had never
seen a theatre before, and the whole scene was so strange and new, and
the performances on the stage were so real to her that she paid little
attention to other things, and was scarcely aware that some of the
party changed their seats once or twice during the evening. The
performance came to an end at last, all too soon for enraptured Kate,
who found it hard to reconcile herself to her surroundings all at once.

"Come, Kate, don't go to sleep," said Marion, laughing at her dazed
look round at