"And now," said Paula, "we must buy an apron for Teresa, while she's not looking. Where shall we go?" "I think it would be better to let her choose one, and anyway, Teresa will soon be out of the bazaar and will be looking for us." "Oh, my, no! This has got to be a surprise!" "Yes, I know. But how are we going to work it?" A moment later, however, Paula discovered a way, a bit risky perhaps, but the circumstances seemed to justify the means. Teresa, suspecting that Paula's generosity would extend to her, and wishing to avoid that, watched us both carefully; but when all the purchases appeared to be completed, the good woman occupied herself with buying provisions for the house, which of course entailed considerable discussion as to price, etc. It was then that Paula had her chance. "Now's our time," she said to me in a low voice. I followed her without delay. Teresa, meanwhile, argued the price of butter and cheese with an old school-friend, now elevated to proprietorship of the shop, and we knew that this would take at least a quarter-of-an-hour. We soon arrived at a place where they sold novelties, and where the clerks were about ready to close for the night. "Oh, sir," cried Paula, to one of the young men, "will you not please attend to me? I'm in a great hurry." "So, you're in a hurry," said the young man jovially. "Yes, you see, we've run away and we've--" "Wait a minute," said the young man, and he appeared to grow suddenly grave "This is quite serious. Who have you run away from?" "Oh, it's only Teresa across the street, and this must be a surprise for her. Will you please show me an apron?" So the young man, without further ado, hauled down a number of those articles for inspection. "There you are. Take your pick." Paula gave one look, "Oh, no; not that kind," she said with a consternation which I shared, seeing in imagination old Teresa with her great wooden shoes and her long skirts adorned with one of these elegant articles of the latest fashion. "No? Don't you like these?" questioned the clerk. "Oh, no," said Paula. "You see, it's for Teresa." "And, pray, who is Teresa?" Paula started to explain, when the anxious face of the old servant showed itself at the door of the shop across the way, and not seeing us, had started to look up and down the street "Here she comes," I said. "Oh, Paula, what shall we do?" "Go in behind the counter, there," said Paula who never lost her head. I got in behind a pile of merchandise while Paula continued to explain her wants to the clerk from the dark corner of the shop. The youug man appeared to comprehend our situation. "Bertrand," and he turned to one of his fellow-clerks, "please attend to this young girl. I'll be back in a minute." But "Bertrand" hardly had time to ask us what we wanted, when our first friend returned, bringing with him a package under his arm.