"But a week will be no good, Elma. Oh! Elma, Elma, Laurie will suffer for this. They will take his freedom from him; he will be like a chained lion; he will lose his spirit; perhaps--perhaps he will die. I cannot stand it, Elma, I cannot." Kitty covered her face with both her hands, and the tears which with difficulty she had been keeping back all the evening burst forth in torrents. Kitty did not cry as an English girl might. She cried with the wild, passionate sobs of those who have seldom exercised self-control. Elma was dreadfully frightened. "Do stop, Kitty," she said. "You make so much noise; mother and Carrie will hear you. Carrie will come down." "What if she does?" cried Kitty. "Oh, Laurie, Laurie! this will break your heart. You are ruined; ruined for life!" "There are more than Laurie ruined for life, it seems to me," said Elma. "Kitty, I am ever so sorry; but if you will only be patient I will try and think of some plan of helping you. Now, please, please, promise me one thing--you won't tell that I asked you for this money?" "Why not? I must tell some one. I must get the money somehow." "But you made me a promise you would not tell. It is very wrong to break a promise." "I don't care whether it is right or wrong. I cannot keep this secret, Elma. I must remember Laurie, Perhaps Mr. Denvers will lend me the money. I must think of Laurie first." "Please, Kitty, listen to me. If you will promise to keep my secret I'll manage to get you the money somehow." "But how, Elma?" "Oh, I'll think out some plan. Do promise me that you'll keep my secret. It would be my ruin if it were known. Do promise, Kitty; do, please." "I cannot," said Kitty. She walked restlessly to the door. "I must go," she said; "if I don't they will discover that I am out." "And if they do you'll get into an awful scrape." "Oh, it doesn't matter; I can't be worse off than I am. My one hope now is that they will expel me; then I'll have to return to Ireland; and perhaps I may coax father not to be too hard on Laurie." "Then Kitty, you have quite made up your mind to tell all about me?" "I think so. I cannot imagine why it matters." "But it does, and I must give you the reason. I did wrong, dreadfully wrong, ever to ask you for that money. I broke one of the strictest rules of the school." "What do you mean?" "It is one of the strictest rules of Middleton School that no schoolgirl must ask another to lend her money. The governors are terribly particular. If it is ever known I shall be most likely expelled. Anyhow, my character will be gone, and I shall be ruined for life. Oh, Kitty, you have not such a hard life as I have. Do have pity on me." Kitty stood silent; she was thinking deeply. "You'll promise; won't you?" repeated Elma. "I can't say. I scarcely know what I am doing at the present moment." "Then listen to me. If you tell about the money I'll tell about this visit. There; don't you see now we are quits."