Marion so far overcame her cousin’s scruples that she said no more about the young men’s non-payment, and when William or one of his companions asked for buns and gave her twopence, which was the sum usually paid whatever they might have, she did not hesitate to give them four or five, or even half a dozen if he said, as he sometimes did, “Make it half a dozen this time, Kate.”

But Marion was not quite so pleasant with these friends as time went on, for the promised orders for the theatre did not come, and Marion was disappointed and impatient.

“It’s no good being so cross with a fellow; I tell you I’ll get the orders next week, if I possibly can,” said William, one afternoon, when Marion was more than usually snappish.

It was drawing near to Christmas now, and the days were short and dark and cold, so that pleasure trips and excursions down the river were out of the question; it was often impossible for them even to go for a walk in the parks on Sunday.

“You’ve told me the same thing before, and here I have been moped up for a month, waiting for them. I tell you I’ll go somewhere by myself; I can’t bear this dull life much longer,” concluded Marion.

“Well, I’ll get the orders to-morrow, if I can,” said William, and this time he was as good as his word. He came in the next afternoon, and with a triumphant flourish handed Marion the coveted orders for herself and Kate.

“Oh, my! they’ve come at last, and for to-morrow night, too,” exclaimed Marion, examining the papers critically.

“But we can’t both go,” said Kate, peeping over her shoulder at the magic papers that had worked such a wonderful change in her cousin’s temper, for Marion had been very cross lately, and scarcely spoken a civil word to Kate.

“Who says we can’t both go?” demanded Marion; “it would serve you right not to let you go to leave you here in the shop while I am enjoying myself in fairyland.”

“No, no, that won’t be fair,” said William. “Kate must go, or the party will be spoiled.”

“Who else are going?” asked Marion.

“Oh, a lot of young fellows; some you do know and some you don’t. We shall be a jolly party, and will take good care of you girls.”

“Have they all got orders?” asked Kate.

“No, it isn’t likely; most of them will pay for themselves; they can afford to do it better than you or I can, but they will be none the less glad to have our company.”

“But I don’t see how I am to go,” said Kate again.

“Oh, leave that to me, I’ll manage it,” said Marion. “We must both get out somehow, but it won’t do to tell Mrs. Maple where we are going.”

“The old lady would have a fit, I suppose?” said William, speaking with his mouth full of cake.

“Oh, ten fits all at once!” laughed Marion. “We must take care she doesn’t find out where we have been.”

While William was amusing himself by eating sponge cakes and tarts, Marion sat down at the desk and began writing a letter. “You must wait for this,” she said; “I want you to take it to the post-office close to our home, and post it there. You see I am writing it to myself, asking myself and Kate to go home for a few hours to keep father’s birthday to-morrow evening. I shall show it to Mrs. Maple, of course, and she’ll grumble a bit at first, I daresay, but she’ll let us go, I know.”

“All right. She isn’t half a bad sort, is she?” said the young man.

“No, that she isn’t, and I hate to deceive her,” said Kate, warmly.

“Well, she’ll be none the worse for it, you goose,” said Marion, laughing.

“I I don’t think I’ll go,” said Kate.

“There, take the letter, I’ll manage her,” said Marion, impatiently, as William was about to expostulate. “She’ll come fast enough, I tell you.”

“All right. I’ll come in to-morrow to arrange about meeting, for we must go together. Mind, you must go, Kate,” added the young man, as he slipped the letter into his pocket.

“Now, Kate, don’t let us have any fuss with you about this,” said her cousin, as the shop door closed and they were left to themselves.

“I don’t want any fuss, but I don’t want to go to the theatre.”

“Well, stay at home, then; I’m not going to persuade you,” said Marion, crossly, and then some more customers came in, and there was no opportunity of renewing the discussion for some time, and Marion did not refer to the matter again that evening.

The letter Marion had written reached them by the last post that night, and after she had gone through the form of reading it she took it at once to Mrs. Maple. “Will you read this, ma’am? They want us to go home for the evening to-morrow, if you can spare us.”

“What, both of you?” said Mrs. Maple, taking the letter and putting on her spectacles as she spoke.

“Your sister writes very much like you, Marion,” remarked the old lady, as she looked at the envelope again; not that she doubted Marion or suspected she would even attempt to deceive her it was done almost without a second thought. But Marion had provided against such a scrutiny. The post-marks were quite correct, and Marion answered quickly, “Yes, ma’am, our handwriting is very much alike. We went to school together.”

“Well, I don’t know what to say to this,” said Mrs. Maple, rather crossly, as she handed back the letter. “It is very inconsiderate of your father, I think, wanting you both at once.”

“You see, they are going to have a few friends and we don’t often have company, now,” said Marion, twisting the corner of her apron as she spoke.

“Well, well, there’s something in that, to be sure; but still it’s very inconvenient for me. I must send and see if my niece can come and mind the shop for an hour or two to-morrow night. Will you want to stay out all night, or can you get home so as to be ready for the morning?”

“Oh, we will come home at night, ma’am; father will bring us home, if you won’t mind us being late for once.”

“Oh, I can put up with that; it’s the shop I’m thinking of, if my niece cannot come.”

“Well, then, we cannot go?”

“You cannot both go, certainly, if she cannot come to help me. I will send Mary with a note the first thing to-morrow morning.”

Marion went back and told Kate the result of her “managing.” “We shall go, never fear,” she said confidently.

“I don’t seem to care about it a bit, now. I wish you had not asked for me,” said Kate.

“Now, don’t be a simpleton, or you will make me cross. Don’t want to go, indeed! What next, I wonder, after all the talk there has been about it? Really, Kate, I have no patience with you!”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t deceiving Mrs. Maple; and then, somehow, I seem to have such a dread of it.”

“Fiddlesticks! what next, I wonder?” said Marion contemptuously.

They saw Mary go out with the note next morning, and a wild wish seemed to seize Kate to run after her and tell her not to go. “I do hope she can’t come,” she said, half aloud; but her cousin would not notice the speech.

Mary, who knew the errand she had been sent upon, told them in a whisper as she came through the shop that it was “all right,” and very soon Mrs. Maple came out and said they could go home for the evening could go to tea, if they liked.

“Thank you, ma’am, but after tea will do. From four to six is always a busy time at both counters, and so we will not leave until that is over.”

William came in before the busy time, and arranged to meet the girls in time to take them to the theatre. Kate felt it would be useless to resist further, and agreed to go with them without further demur, putting her vague fears out of mind as far as she could, and determined to enjoy herself as much as possible.

Just as William had left the shop, Mrs. Maple came in and filled two bags with pastry and buns. “There, you had better take these home with you,” she said, when she had filled the last, and speaking to Marion.

“Thank you, ma’am, I am much obliged; father will be pleased,” said Marion, but Kate felt thankful she was on the other side of the shop, and could hide her tell-tale face, for she knew she blushed with shame at the way they were deceiving their kind mistress.

When they went up to put their things on after tea, she said, “Oh, Marion, I feel like a thief, taking these things for your father, and we know he will never see them.”

“There, make haste and pack away one lot in your bag, and hold your tongue,” said Marion, impatiently.

“What shall we do with all these?” asked Kate; “Mrs. Maple has given us such a lot.”

“Why, eat them, to be sure; William and the rest will help us. There, you put as many as you can in your bag, and we’ll save them to eat when we come out, and they must take the rest between them,” said Marion.

Kate filled her leather bag and Marion took those that were soon to be disposed of, and with a parting word from Mrs. Maple not to be very late, the girls set off.

Their friends were waiting for them at the corner of the street, and when they reached the doors of the theatre they were joined by several other smartly-dressed young men, who paid for their seats, and to whom money seemed of very little account. They condescended to laugh and chat with the two girls and eat some of the pastry, and Marion felt immensely flattered by their attentions.

Kate was in a state of bewilderment the whole evening. She had never seen a theatre before, and the whole scene was so strange and new, and the performances on the stage were so real to her that she paid little attention to other things, and was scarcely aware that some of the party changed their seats once or twice during the evening. The performance came to an end at last, all too soon for enraptured Kate, who found it hard to reconcile herself to her surroundings all at once.

“Come, Kate, don’t go to sleep,” said Marion, laughing at her dazed look round at the crowd.

All the people were leaving their seats now, and our party got up too.

“Open your bag, Kate, I should like a bun now,” said Marion, and she took one herself and handed some to the rest of the party, who were pushing and elbowing their way through the crowd.

“What a dreadful crush there is,” said Marion. “Kate, you haven’t brought another purse to lose, have you?” she whispered.

Kate shook her head, for she was eating now from the bag as she carried it open in her hand. The next minute some one cried out, “I have been robbed my watch has gone!” and the crowd surged back, and Kate was almost pushed off her feet.

There were cries of “Police! police! stop thief! stop thief!” and during the confusion that ensued Kate and Marion, who managed to keep together, were pushed into a corner and separated, from all their friends.

“Shut up your bag, Kate, or it may be snatched out of your hand, gaping open like that,” said Marion.

“Oh! what is it, when shall we get out?” exclaimed Kate, turning very pale.

“There, don’t be frightened,” said Marion. “The crowd will move on directly, and the others will wait for us outside. It’s nothing but a few pickpockets, you need not look so frightened.”

“Oh, I wish we hadn’t come!” said Kate, fairly trembling with undefined terror. She shut her bag, for neither she nor Marion could eat anything now, and even Marion began to get frightened at last, for only murmured words among the crowd could tell them what was going on, but there was a bustle and expectancy and a swaying to and fro of the multitude that convinced Marion something unusual must be taking place, for they did not move a step forward for all the pushing and squeezing.

“Oh, dear! how late we shall be,” said Kate, after a few minutes’ waiting. “Can’t we get out, Marion?”

“No, that we can’t until the crowd moves. There, don’t be frightened; Mrs. Maple won’t expect us yet,” said Marion.

It was some time before there was any perceptible movement in the crowd, but at last the two girls were released from their corner, and pushed their way on with the rest.

Once outside, they began to look about for their former companions, but could see nothing of them. The crowd had almost dispersed now, for they were nearly the last to leave the theatre, and so there was no difficulty in looking round, but neither William nor his grand friends could be seen.

“Well, that is mean of him to walk off and leave us like this!” said Marion, crossly.

“Never mind; let us make haste home by ourselves,” said Kate, who was frightened at the lateness of the hour, for they had heard a clock strike eleven several minutes before.

But Marion would stop and look round once more. “I wonder where they have gone?” she said.

“Oh, do come!” said Kate; “perhaps they thought we had gone on, as we were so long getting out.”

“Perhaps they are waiting for us at the corner,” said Marion, who was unwilling to give up the hope of seeing these grand new-found friends again. She hurried on by Kate’s side, and at the corner of the street stopped again and looked all round.

“Oh, don’t wait, Marion, they are home by this time,” said Kate, hurrying on.

Marion was obliged to hurry after her, but she was cross and out of humour. “I will give it to Mr. William when he comes in to-morrow!” she grumbled; “I never saw such bad behaviour in my life, leaving us to go home by ourselves at this time of night. There, do stop a minute, Kate; how fast you are walking. I thought I saw one of them then,” and Marion stopped and looked round.

But no one was to be seen; indeed, the street seemed to be deserted, for no one was about but themselves, and, their footsteps ringing sharp and clear on the hard, frosty ground, seemed to fill Kate with terror again.

“Oh, pray do make haste, Marion,” she cried, in a half-suppressed tone, as though she was afraid of the sound of her own voice.

“Oh, all right, you need not be in such a fright. I suppose you were never out late at night before,” said Marion.

“Not so late as this, and by myself too,” said Kate.

“Oh, well, we shan’t be long,” and Marion hurried on now, and in a few minutes they had reached the well-remembered street quiet now, for a wonder, as it seemed to Kate, and she began to breathe more freely.

The shop was shut up, of course, but Mrs. Maple came to let them in almost as soon as they had rung the bell. “Has your father gone?” she said in some surprise, at seeing the girls by themselves.

“Yes, ma’am; he has gone to take a friend home,” said Marion, quickly.

They went straight up to bed, and Kate put her bag into her box, where she usually kept it, without thinking of the buns that were left.

“I’m so glad it is over and we are safe at home again,” said Kate with a sigh of relief.

“I hope we shall soon have another treat just like it,” said Marion, thinking of her new friends.