"How's this, matey?" she asked in her new character and laughed.
It was a wonderful transformation indeed! I should never have recognized her; and the few little scratches on her face from the broken glass in the collision, combined with some artistic smudges she had added, made her into a lifelike young workboy.
"What have you done with your hair?" I exclaimed.
"Just messed it up under the cap. Of course it'll have to come off; but we'd better not waste any time about it now, had we? We can see to it later in the morning."
"Righto," I agreed; and we set to work to finish the other preparations. We had to dispose of our own clothes, of course; so we rolled them up tightly, put the overalls in the suit case, and were ready.
"Now for the frontier," I said. "Let's hope the luck's with us."
"Cheero, matey; if it isn't, you'll get us through somehow," she replied with the most plucky confidence.
I loved her for that, for I knew that she understood the difficulties and risks that lay ahead quite as well as I did. I lost my head for a minute then; and just as we stood on the threshold of the dingy little shed, I put my arm round her, drew her quickly to me and kissed her on the lips.
She held to me for an instant, kissed me in return, and then drew away quickly.
"Not so much of it, matey. Do you take me for a girl? You've knocked my cap off, clumsy," she cried, laughing and blushing, as her glorious hair fell over her shoulders and down to her waist.