nor pursued, "we must always remember to keep most of our
private possessions under lock and key, so that no one reads our real
names on any of our books."

"Why, that is just what I have been telling you," said Margaret, "and as
a beginning I wrote Margaret Anstruther over the Eleanor Carson on the
fly-leaves of your grammar and your dictionary."

"Why, of course, so you did," said Eleanor. "Excuse my apparent
inattention. At that moment I was choosing the opera in which I was to
make my _debut_, and was trying to decide whether the said _debut_ shall
take place in London or Paris, or in New York. They do give one such
splendid receptions in New York. One thing you may rely on, Margaret,
I shall send you tickets. Stall, second row, or would you like a box?"

"Speaking of boxes," said Margaret seriously, "are your name or your
initials painted on yours; neither are on mine."

"Nor on mine. My trunk, too, is innocent of any old labels that might
betray us."

At that moment a porter opened the door and looked in.

"The 2.17 has just been signalled," he said; "are either of you ladies
going by it?"

"We both are," said Eleanor, jumping up briskly and going towards the
door. "Porter, our trunks are wrongly labelled. Would you kindly see to
it for us. The one that should be labelled to Seabourne is labelled to
Chailfield, and _vice versa_. I will come and show you. Come along,
Margaret, the porter will take your bag."

"I had omitted to take the matter of labels into my consideration,"
Margaret said, in an undertone, as they followed the man up the platform.

"Well, you needn't reproach yourself over much for that," Eleanor said.
"Considering that this is your first attempt at a conspiracy, you make an
A1 plotter."

Margaret's answering smile was rather a perfunctory one. She found
Eleanor's way of treating the matter as a most excellent jest rather
a trying one, and yet she could not but acknowledge that Eleanor's
foresight, when she chose to exercise it, was at least equal to her own.
For when Eleanor had made sure that the new railway labels were properly
affixed she changed their private labels, thus making the transfer of
their names complete.

CHAPTER VII

MRS. MURRAY MEETS THE TRAIN

"There," said Eleanor, "the first step is successfully accomplished, and
we have taken formal possession of each other's names. Here comes the
train. You were travelling first, weren't you? I was third. We had bett