As Lancy sat by his open window enjoying the quiet scene without, the sound
of their voices reached his ears. He would have preferred a walk, or a
short _tete-a-tete_ with Dexie, instead of this early-to-bed arrangement,
but he respected the rule of the house and blew out his candle at an early
hour. He was rewarded for his good behavior by a long refreshing sleep, and
Dexie appearing to him in his dreams was more gracious than ever she had
been during his waking hours.
But, as everyone knows, when young ladies get talking together of an
evening, sleep "comes slowly up that way," and the shortness of their
candles alone warned them that it was time they sought the pillow. But the
short candles were unheeded, for Gertrude was relating reminiscences of a
former visit, and the fun and frolic that prevailed at the farm during
their stay. At last, when one of the candles flared up, then subsided in
smoke, the girls rose to leave the room, but Gertrude turned at the door,
saying:
"Take good care, girls, and sleep well over to the back of the bed, or you
may repeat the performance that took place the first night that Beatrice
and I slept in the house.
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