a cab. Oh!"

She put her hands to her ears for an instant, as they stood by the door,
as though to shut out the child's cries. Hubert looked down upon her,
hesitating, his face flushed, his eyes drawn and sombre.

"Now--you'll let me take you home, Miss Laura? It'll be very late for
you. I can get back to-morrow."

She looked up suddenly.

"No, _no_!" she said, almost stamping. "I can get home alone quite well.
I want no one."

Then she caught the lad's expression--and put her hand to her brow a
moment.

"Come back for me now at any rate--in an hour," she said in another
voice. "Please take me to the train--of course. I must go then."

"Oh, Laura, I _can't_ wait!" cried Polly from the stairs--"I wish I
could. But mother's sending Daffady with the cart--and she'd be that
cross."

Laura came out to the stairway.

"Don't wait. Just tell the carriage--mind"--she hung over the banisters,
enforcing the words--"tell them that I'm coming by the later train.
They're not to send down for me again--I can get a cab at the inn. Mind,
Polly,--did you hear?"