"You two girls ought to be in bed," he said. They went with him and watched him crank his machine; as he threw in the clutch, he called back, a little anxiously, "Make her loaf, Laura! She's tired." Indoors, while they were locking up, Laura giggled. "He's daft about you, Freddy!" "Mr. Weston? My dear, you're mad! He looks on me as a granddaughter." "Those aunts or cousins, or whatever they are, of his," Laura said, sleepily, "are at the hotel, and I went with Mother to call on them. The old one, who looks like an eagle, is perfectly sweet; but the pouter-pigeon one said that she did not think the young woman of to-day, who went into business, 'was calculated to make any man happy.' 'Course, I knew she was afraid you would catch 'dear Arthur'! But really--" "Come on," Fred interrupted, starting up-stairs. Laura stumbled along behind her. "Really, I think he is gone on you." "Goose!" The idea was too absurd to discuss; instead, when she was combing her hair Fred called through the partition that separated the tiny bedrooms and said she wanted to tell Laura something. "Come in!" Laura called back; and Frederica, comb in hand, came in, and sat on the edge of the bed. At first she talked about Flora, who didn't like to come out to the camp, because it took her away from her beau. "The McKnight chauffeur is very attentive," Fred said; "fortunately for me, Jack's going off with the car for all of August, or I'm afraid she'd leave me, so as to get back to town. Isn't it funny how crazy women in the lower classes are to get married?" Laura nodded, sleepily. "Want me to read you Howard's last letter?" Fred said, and took it out of the pocket of her kimono. Laura, curled up on the bed, listened. "He's right," she said, when Frederica, with due carelessness, read Howard's panegyrics on her brains; "you are terribly clever, Freddy." "Go off!" Fred said. "Laura, he's awfully down on Jack McKnight. You wouldn't look at him, would you?" "At Jack? The idea! If there wasn't another man in the world, I wouldn't look at Jack." "I want you to do something," Fred said. "All right. What?" "It will take nerve." Laura opened her eyes quickly. "If it's another parade--" "No! No! Nothing like that. Parades are only to show the strength of the attacking army. I want you to _attack_!" Laura sighed. "But Father and Mother are so opposed--" "This is something personal I want you to do." Laura was obviously relieved. "It's about Jack McKnight. When he proposes to you--" "He won't." "Don't be silly! He will if you let him. And I want you to let him. Then, when you turn him down, tell him _why_." "Why? He'll know why! Because I'm not in love with him." "I want you to tell him the reason you're not in love with him." Laura, flushing to her temples, sat up in bed. "It's none of his business! Or,--or anybody's!" "It _is_ his business--to know that a decent woman won't look at a fast man!"