"Leaving!"
"Oh, I sha'n't leave till after ten o'clock now, you may be sure," Louie laughed.
"But—oh, I say!"
The dismayed voices dropped. There was a blank silence. It was only after half-a-minute that Burnett Minor, who had issued from cover again, begged: "Don't leave, Causton."
"Oh, I shouldn't leave because of anything like this," said Louie, enormously amused at the thought. "The place is a fraud—that's why I should leave."
"Oh, don't leave," another girl begged.
"Well, we'll see what she says to-morrow."
"She can't be too down on you——"
Something that can only be described as a pleasant hardening came into Louie's grey eyes. Her laugh dropped a note. She looked at the adoring faces.