Page 63 - An Australian Lassie

speaking to you. That's all."

"And shan't you speak to me any more?" asked Betty.

"Only just speak," said John.

"And--and— " Betty's voice quavered with anxiety--"shan't you run away with me?"

"Mightn't" said John. He sent another stone speeding down the road, and Betty watched it with misty eyes, as
she trudged along behind him. She did not speak.

"You should have cleared when T coughed," said John. "T told you T'd cough, but you sat there reading and
wouldn't look up."

Still Betty was silent.

"You'd give the whole blessed show away," said John. "What's the good of running away and being brought
back to school. That comes of being a girl."

And then he looked at her and saw the tears were running down her cheeks and her lips quivering.

"You're crying!" he said, turning round to her sharply.

"Oh, T'm not," said Betty, and dragged her bonnet further over her face. "That horrid stone of yours made a
d-dust, and its--it's got in my eyes."

John laughed. "Tf you do run away," he said, "what shall you do?"

Betty's ambition leapt to life, and her tears dried themselves on her cheeks and in her eyes.

"T'm going to sing," she said. "T'm going to stand at a street corner and sing, and T'm going to wear a tattered
old dress and no boots and stockings. And then an old gentleman will pass by and he'll hear me and stand still,
and he'll take me away to make a singer of me; and even lords will come to hear me sing, and kings and
queens."

John was stirred.

"T'm going without boots, too," he said, "and T shall be in tattered things. T shall get a place as errand boy first,
and--- "

"When are you going?" asked Betty artfully.

"To-morrow," said John.

"Why, so am T," said Betty. "How funny."

"Tf you like," said John, "T'll see you to some street corner. T'm going at five o'clock in the morning."

"Why, so am T," said Betty. "Oh, yes; let's go together."

"You can be down at the store by half-past five," said John. "That'll give us time to get a bit of breakfast. And
we'll be in Sydney early, before they find out we've gone."