"Surely that can't be Tom?" Miss Winter said, who had heard the one hundred and one strokes on former occasions. "Indeed it is, though." "But how very light it is." "It is almost the longest day in the year, and there hasn't been a cloud all day." They started to walk home all together, and Tom gradually recovered himself, but left the labouring oar to Hardy, who did his work very well, and persuaded the ladies to go on and see the Ratcliffe by moonlight--the only time to see it, as he said, because of the shadows--and just to look in at the old quadrangle of St. Ambrose. It was almost ten o'clock when they stopped at the lodgings in High-street. While they were waiting for the door to be opened, Hardy said-- "I really must apologize, Miss Winter, to you, for my intrusion to-night. I hope your father will allow me to call on him." "Oh yes! pray do; he will be so glad to see any friend of my cousin's." "And if I can be of any use to him; or to you, or your sister--" "My sister! Oh, you mean Mary? She is not my sister." "I beg your pardon. But I hope you will let me know if there is anything I can do for you." "Indeed we will. Now, Mary, papa will be worrying about us." And so the young ladies said their adieus and disappeared. "Surely you told me they were sisters," said Hardy, as the two walked away towards college. "No, did I? I don't remember." "But they are your cousins?" "Yes, at least Katie is. Don't you like her?" "Of course, one can't help liking her. But she says you have not met for two years or more." "No more we have." "Then I suppose you have seen more of her companion lately?" "Well, if you must know, I never saw her before yesterday." "You don't mean to say that you took me in there tonight when you had never seen one of the young ladies before, and the other not for two years! Well, upon my word, Brown--" "Now don't blow me up, old fellow, to-night--please don't. There, I give in. Don't hit a fellow when he's down. I'm so low." Tom spoke in such a depreciating tone that Hardy's wrath passed away. "Why, what's the matter?" he said. "You seemed to be full of talk. I was envying your fluency I know, often." "Talk! yes so I was. But didn't you see Dick in the Walk? You have never heard anything more?" "No! but no news is good news." "Heigho! I'm awfully down. I want to talk to you. Let me come up." "Come along then." And so they disappeared into Hardy's lodgings. The two young ladies, meanwhile, soothed old Mr. Winter, who had eaten and drank more than was good for him, and was naturally put out thereby. They soon managed to persuade him to retire, and then followed themselves--first to Mary's room, where that young lady burst out at once, "What a charming place it is! Oh! didn't you enjoy your evening, Katie!"