"Indeed, indeed I do."
"Perhaps," he answered.
"Good-bye, then," she said, "or rather au revoir," and they clasped hands while the Professor looked down into Molly's eyes and smiled.
He moved to the door like a sleep-walker and held it open for her as she hurried out. Then he went back to his desk and sat down in a sort of trance. The next instant the door was flung open again, footsteps hurried across the room and two arms slipped over his shoulders.
"Do you remember what I said I was going to do some time to that old gentleman who bought the orchard?" said Molly's voice over his head. "I said I'd just give him a good hug."
For one instant the arms held him tightly, a cheek was laid lightly on his thin reddish hair and then she was gone, flying down the corridor.
"I suppose she regards me as an old gentleman," he said resignedly, laying his hand softly on the spot where her cheek had touched.
As for Molly, she had a sudden thought that almost stopped her headlong course:
"What would Miss Alice Fern think if she knew!"
The girls were calling impatiently when Molly reached the arch, and in three minutes the crowded bus moved down the avenue.