“Oh, he is only teasing us. You don’t know what a tease he is,” replied Jessie, with an air of indifference.
“No, honor bright, I’m not teasing. I have a secret that would make you girls pitch your dolls into next week, if you knew it,” retorted Hugh.
“Well, what is it? Do tell us,” said Jessie, beginning to believe that he had something to tell worth knowing.
“What will you give me?” asked Hugh, still bent on tantalizing the girls.
“I’ve got nothing to give that you want,” said Jessie, and then in a coaxing tone she added, “come, Hugh, do tell us, there’s a good, dear Hugh.”
“No, you don’t come it over me with soft soap like that,” replied the boy; “I’m not a fly to be caught with maple molasses.”
“If you was my brother I’d make you tell me,” said Emily, her eyes sparkling with rising passion as she spoke.
“You are a spunky little lady, I declare,” said Hugh, laughing; “but here, Jessie, suppose you try to guess my secret. It is something you would give ever so much to know.”
“Really, Hugh, have you a secret, truly?”
“Yes, truly. Honor bright, I tell you. It is a glorious secret. It will make you ever so happy to know it.”