"Y--es," was the timid reply.

"Let's go out."

"But I--I can't."

"I must, then. I have nothing to do; the lessons are deadly stupid.
Forgive me, girls; you are all blameless;" and the next moment she had
left the room.

Half a moment later she was in the fresh air outside. Her cheeks were
hot, her hair in disorder, and her hand, where she had touched the
peppermint, was sticky."

"What would father say if he could see me now?" she thought. "If Aunty
O'Flynn was to look at her Kathleen! Oh, why did they send me across the
cold sea to a place of this sort--a detestable place? Oh, the fresh air
is reviving. I was born free, and Britons never, never will be slaves. I
can't stay in that horrid room. Oh, how long the morning is!"

Just then a teacher came out and beckoned to Kathleen.

"What are you doing outside, Miss O'Hara? Come in immediately and return
to your class."

"I can't dear," replied Kathleen in a gentle tone. "You are young,
aren't you? You don't look more than twenty. Do you ever feel your heart
beat wild, dear, and your spirits all in a sort of throb? And did you,
when you were like that, submit to being tied up in steel chains all