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It was all still below stairs, then a soft, stealthy silkenup the stairs Julia Cloud went quickly to the hall door, and switched on the light On the landing stood Leslie, lovely and flushed, with her hair slightly ruffled and her velvet evening cloak thrown back, showing the rosy mist of her dress She stood with one silver slipper poised on the stairs, a sweet, guilty look on her face

"O Cloudy! I thought you were asleep, and I didn't want to waken you," she said, penitently; "but you haven't gone to bed yet, have you? I' the matter?" Julia Cloud asked with a stricture of eot tired, and we didn't want to stay to their old party, anyway, and we'd rather be hoht her aunt in her arms with one of her sweet, violent kisses

"O my dear!" was all Julia Cloud could say And then they heard Allison closing the door softly below, and creaking across the floor and up the stairs

"Oh, you waked her up!" he said reproachfully as he caught sight of his sister in Julia Cloud's arone to bed yet I knew she wouldn't," said Leslie, nestling closer "Say, Cloudy, we're not going to trouble you that way again It isn't worth it We don't like their old dancing, anyway I couldn't forget the way you looked so hurt--and the things you said Won't you please come down to the fire awhile? We want to tell you about it"

Down on the couch, with Allison stirring up the dying embers and Leslie nestled close to her, Julia Cloud heard bits about the evening

"It wasn't bad, Cloudy, 'deed it wasn't They dance a lot nicer in colleges than they do other places I know, for I've been to lots of dances, and I never let ht me that when I was little That's hat you said made me so mad I've always been a lot carefuller than you'd think, and I never dance with anybody the second time if I don't like the way he does it the first tiht, Cloudy The boys are all shy and bashful, anyway; only I couldn't forget what you had said about not liking to haveseem so--so--well, not nice; and I just felt uncolass of water for me, and I just sat it out; and, when Allison saw me, he came over, and said, 'Let's beat it!' and so I slipped up to the dressing-roo anybody Wasn't that perfectly dreadful? But I'll call the girl up after a while, and tell her we had to co them so"