Paula the Waldensian - Eva Lecomte

Chapter 18
The night-school
For the first time in my life a great secret had been confided to me. Of
course, I felt quite proud that they had considered me important enough to be
a sharer of the secret. But my! What a struggle it was not to tell Paula!
In a few days it would be Paula's fifteenth birthday, and the whole
family seemed endued with the same idea, to make it an especially happy
and unforgettable occasion.
Paula must have suspected something with all the coming and going; the
whispering and smothered giggles in corners, etc., but she wasn't the kind to
pry into other people's affairs, and so, no matter what she may have thought,
she kept her own counsel.
On the morning of the great day, which to our great satisfaction, came
on a Sunday, Paula was quite a bit surprised to find that Mlle. Virtud and
Gabriel had been invited over to breakfast; but aside from that occurrence
there was nothing unusual as yet to indicate that we were celebrating Paula's
birthday.
When the meal was finished, however, my father folded up his napkin,
and with an air of mock gravity said, "Why, let me see, this is Paula's
birthday; isn't it? I suppose Paula's been wondering why there were no gifts
piled up on her plate. You see, Paula, we've all combined on the one gift, but
it's too big to put on the dining-table. However, it's not far away. Let's all go
and have a look at it together."
He led the way out of the house and across the road, and we all
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