"You don't seem very glad to see us, Bertie!" one said.
"Cheer up, old chap--nobody'll tell on us!" cried one of the young
men.
"And we'll be good and go home early!" added another of the girls.
One of the party Samuel noticed particularly, because she looked more
serious, and hung back a little. She was smaller than the others, a
study in pink and white; her dress and hat were trimmed with pink
ribbons, and she had the most marvelously pink cheeks and lips, and
the most exquisite features Samuel had ever seen in his life.
Now suddenly she ran to young Lockman and flung her arms about his
neck.
"Bertie," she exclaimed, "it's my fault. I made them come! I wanted to
see you so badly! You aren't mad with us, are you?"
"No," said Bertie, "I'm not mad."
"Well, then, be glad!" cried the girl, and kissed him again. "Be a
good boy--do!"
"All right," said Bertie feebly. "I'll be good, Belle."
"We wanted to surprise you," added one of the young fellows.
"You surprised me all right," said Bertie--a reply which all of them
seemed to find highly amusing, for they laughed uproariously.
"He doesn't ask us in," said one of the girls. "Come on, Dolly--let's
see this house of his."
And so the party poured in. Samuel waited just long enough to catch
the rustle of innumerable garments, and a medley of perfumes which
might have been blown from all the gardens of the East.
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