No more was said then, but somehow when they walked up the trail there was this between them, and they walked farther apart than usual. They were silent, too, a good deal of the time. Moreover it was a short walk; but before they reached the hotel Johnny had returned to the vexed subject of Mr. Bunny and the treatment Mollie was to accord him.
“Mollie, you are not going to talk to that fellow any more, are you?”
“Certainly I shall talk to him. I am not going to be impolite just because you are,” rejoined Mollie, with a little toss of her head.
Johnny flushed hotly, then the color faded from his face.
“All right then, if you'd rather talk to him than me, you can, but I won't be here to listen to it—I can tell you that!”
They had reached the door by this time, and Mollie, holding her chin very high, said coldly:
“Good night, Mr. Severance,—I think I must go in. Thank you for your company.”
Johnny gasped, then he said politely:
“Good night, Miss Ferguson,” and turned away, while Mollie went up to her room with burning cheeks and smarting eyes.
But it was not until she was safe in bed that she shed a few surreptitious tears.