"Are they any harder to manage than you are?" said Cherry. "You know"—but she checked herself. It would not do to mention her father again, even to save his being waked up by all this talking under his window.
"Know what?"
"Less than you think," said Cherry coolly.
"The professors have been trying to din that into me for the last two years," said Magnus, "but I never thought to have you take it up. What were you going to say?"
"I shall not tell you."
"Sugar and spice," quoted Magnus. "Shows what I have to expect at my first wild frontier post."
"I can tell you what to expect before that," said Cherry. "If you stay here moonshining any longer, you 'will be pale to-morrow,' like your namesake in Dickens."
"Then you can hand over some of your pinks," said Magnus. "Besides, my dear, I must inform you of a well-known West Point fact: truth misapplied ceases to be useful. Mr. Peter Magnus was storing his good looks to propound a certain question next day. Whereas I, having settled it to-night——"
But just there Cherry made a quick movement of her pretty head, stooped under the enclosing arms, and was out of sight in a second.