e Miss Becky
such a treat, and here sat her guest, looking anxious and
distressed--yes, more anxious and distressed than she looked a year
ago when her cow died. But then the play had not begun yet, Nannie
reflected, with a gleam of hope. When the play had once begun, Miss
Becky would forget all her worries and be as "tickled" as she had
counted on her being. And when once the curtain had gone up, Nannie at
least had no more misgivings. Her fancy was instantly taken captive,
first by the charming young officer and his pretty Irish sweetheart,
then by the fine old priest, then by Con himself,--dear, droll,
happy-go-lucky Con, with his picturesque foibles, his bubbling humour,
and his phenomenal virtues. From the moment of his entry, with
"Tatters" just not at his heels, Nannie was all smiles and tears.

Miss Becky, meanwhile, sat erect as a ramrod, a look of perplexity
screwing her wrinkles all out of shape. Her bonnet had got somewhat
askew from her constant effort to keep an eye on those unsupported
galleries, and there was a general air of discomfort about her, which
was the first thing that struck Nannie when, as the curtain fell upon
the first act, she turned to look at her.

"Aren't you enjoying it, Miss Becky?" she asked, with quick anxiety.

"Oh, yes, I'm hevin' a reel pleasant time. 'T ain't through yet, is
it?"

"Why, no; it's only just begun. There's lots more! May Colby says that
Con gets them all out of all their troubles and almost gets killed
himself!"

"I sh'd think 't would take a long time. Are you sure 't ain't most
five o'clock?"

"Oh, no; it's only three. See! And my watch is fast, too. Wasn't it
funny about the letter?"

"Well, I didn't quite understand about that. What made 'em laugh so?"

"Why, that was because he couldn't read, and so he had to make it all
up out of his head."

"Well!" declared Miss Becky, with strong disapproval, "I don't think
he'd ought to hev deceived his mother that way; do you?"

This was a poser; but at that moment the orchestra came to the rescue
with a new tune, and Nannie was spared the necessity of replying.

After that the play became every moment more exciting and the central
figure more entirely captivating, and even between the acts Nannie
was preoccupied and unobservant. They had got to the prison scene,
with all its ingenious intricacies of plot and stage machinery; Con
had accomplished the rescue, and was scrambling over the rocks, when
suddenly t