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+*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington*
+#7 in our series by Booth Tarkington
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+Seventeen
+
+by Booth Tarkington
+
+January, 1999  [Etext #1611
+
+
+*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington*
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+
+
+SEVENTEEN
+A TALE OF YOUTH AND
+SUMMER TIME AND
+THE BAXTER FAMILY
+ESPECIALLY WILLIAM
+
+
+by BOOTH TARKINGTON
+
+
+
+
+SEVENTEEN
+
+
+
+
+TO
+S.K.T.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+I.      WILLIAM
+II.     THE UNKNOWN
+III.    THE PAINFUL AGE
+IV.     GENESIS AND CLEMATIS
+V.      SORROWS WITHIN A BOILER
+VI.     TRUCULENCE
+VII.    MR. BAXTER'S EVENING CLOTHES
+VIII.   JANE
+IX.     LITTLE SISTERS HAVE BIG EARS
+X.      MR. PARCHER AND LOVE
+XI.     BEGINNING A TRUE FRIENDSHIP
+XII.    PROGRESS OF THE SYMPTOMS
+XIII.   AT HOME TO HIS FRIENDS
+XIV.    TIME DOES FLY
+XV.     ROMANCE OF STATISTICS
+XVI.    THE SHOWER 
+XVII.   JANE'S THEORY
+XVIII.  THE BIG, FAT LUMMOX
+XIX.    ``I DUNNO WHY IT IS''
+XX.     SYDNEY CARTON
+XXI.    MY LITTLE SWEETHEARTS
+XXII.   FORESHADOWINGS
+XXIII.  FATHERS FORGET
+XXIV.   CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
+XXV.    YOUTH AND MR. PARCHER
+XXVI.   MISS BOKE
+XXVII.  MAROONED
+XXVIII. RANNIE KIRSTED
+XXIX.   ``DON'T FORGET!''
+XXX.     THE BRIDE-TO-BE
+
+
+
+
+SEVENTEEN
+
+I
+
+WILLIAM
+
+William Sylvanus Baxter paused
+for a moment of thought in front of the
+drug-store at the corner of Washington Street
+and Central Avenue.  He had an internal question
+to settle before he entered the store: he
+wished to allow the young man at the soda-
+fountain no excuse for saying, ``Well, make up
+your mind what it's goin' to be, can't you?'' 
+Rudeness of this kind, especially in the presence
+of girls and women, was hard to bear, and though
+William Sylvanus Baxter had borne it upon
+occasion, he had reached an age when he found
+it intolerable.  Therefore, to avoid offering
+opportunity for anything of the kind, he decided
+upon chocolate and strawberry, mixed, before
+approaching the fountain.  Once there, however,
+and a large glass of these flavors and diluted
+ice-cream proving merely provocative, he said,
+languidly--an affectation, for he could have
+disposed of half a dozen with gusto:  ``Well, now
+I'm here, I might as well go one more.  Fill 'er
+up again.  Same.''
+
+Emerging to the street, penniless, he bent a
+fascinated and dramatic gaze upon his reflection
+in the drug-store window, and then, as he turned
+his back upon the alluring image, his expression
+altered to one of lofty and uncondescending
+amusement.  That was his glance at the passing
+public.  From the heights, he seemed to bestow
+upon the world a mysterious derision--for William
+Sylvanus Baxter was seventeen long years
+of age, and had learned to present the appearance
+of one who possesses inside information about life
+and knows all strangers and most acquaintances
+to be of inferior caste, costume, and intelligence.
+
+He lingered upon the corner awhile, not pressed
+for time.  Indeed, he found many hours of these
+summer months heavy upon his hands, for he had
+no important occupation, unless some intermittent
+dalliance with a work on geometry (anticipatory
+of the distant autumn) might be thought
+important, which is doubtful, since he usually
+went to sleep on the shady side porch at his
+home, with the book in his hand.  So, having
+nothing to call him elsewhere, he lounged before
+the drug-store in the early afternoon sunshine,
+watching the passing to and fro of the lower
+orders and bourgeoisie of the middle-sized mid-
+land city which claimed him (so to speak) for a
+native son.
+
+Apparently quite unembarrassed by his presence,
+they went about their business, and the only
+people who looked at him with any attention
+were pedestrians of color.  It is true that when
+the gaze of these fell upon him it was instantly
+arrested, for no colored person could have passed
+him without a little pang of pleasure and of
+longing.  Indeed, the tropical violence of William
+Sylvanus Baxter's tie and the strange brilliancy
+of his hat might have made it positively unsafe
+for him to walk at night through the negro
+quarter of the town.  And though no man could
+have sworn to the color of that hat, whether it
+was blue or green, yet its color was a saner thing
+than its shape, which was blurred, tortured, and
+raffish; it might have been the miniature model
+of a volcano that had blown off its cone and
+misbehaved disastrously on its lower slopes as well. 
+He had the air of wearing it as a matter of course
+and with careless ease, but that was only an air--
+it was the apple of his eye.
+
+For the rest, his costume was neutral, subordinate,
+and even a little neglected in the matter of a
+detail or two: one pointed flap of his soft collar
+was held down by a button, but the other showed
+a frayed thread where the button once had been;
+his low patent-leather shoes were of a luster not
+solicitously cherished, and there could be no
+doubt that he needed to get his hair cut, while
+something might have been done, too, about
+the individualized hirsute prophecies which had
+made independent appearances, here and there,
+upon his chin.  He examined these from time
+to time by the sense of touch, passing his hand
+across his face and allowing his finger-tips a
+slight tapping motion wherever they detected a
+prophecy.
+
+Thus he fell into a pleasant musing and seemed
+to forget the crowded street.
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE UNKNOWN
+
+He was roused by the bluff greeting of an
+acquaintance not dissimilar to himself in
+age, manner, and apparel.
+
+``H'lo, Silly Bill!'' said this person,
+William Sylvanus Baxter.  ``What's the news?''
+
+William showed no enthusiasm; on the
+contrary, a frown of annoyance appeared upon his
+brow.  The nickname ``Silly Bill''--long ago
+compounded by merry child-comrades from
+``William'' and ``Sylvanus''--was not to his
+taste, especially in public, where he preferred to
+be addressed simply and manfully as ``Baxter.'' 
+Any direct expression of resentment, however,
+was difficult, since it was plain that Johnnie
+Watson intended no offense whatever and but
+spoke out of custom.
+
+``Don't know any,'' William replied, coldly.
+
+``Dull times, ain't it?'' said Mr. Watson, a little
+depressed by his friend's manner.  ``I heard May
+Parcher was comin' back to town yesterday,
+though.''
+
+``Well, let her!'' returned William, still severe.
+
+``They said she was goin' to bring a girl to
+visit her,'' Johnnie began in a confidential tone. 
+``They said she was a reg'lar ringdinger and--''
+
+``Well, what if she is?'' the discouraging Mr.
+Baxter interrupted.  ``Makes little difference to
+ME, I guess!''
+
+``Oh no, it don't.  YOU don't take any interest
+in girls!  OH no!''
+
+``No, I do not!'' was the emphatic and heartless
+retort.  ``I never saw one in my life I'd care
+whether she lived or died!''
+
+``Honest?'' asked Johnnie, struck by the
+conviction with which this speech was uttered. 
+``Honest, is that so?''
+
+``Yes, `honest'!'' William replied, sharply. 
+``They could ALL die, _I_ wouldn't notice!''
+
+Johnnie Watson was profoundly impressed. 
+``Why, _I_ didn't know you felt that way about
+'em, Silly Bill.  I always thought you were kind
+of--''
+
+``Well, I do feel that way about 'em!'' said
+William Sylvanus Baxter, and, outraged by the
+repetition of the offensive nickname, he began
+to move away.  ``You can tell 'em so for me, if
+you want to!'' he added over his shoulder.  And
+he walked haughtily up the street, leaving Mr.
+Watson to ponder upon this case of misogyny,
+never until that moment suspected.
+
+It was beyond the power of his mind to grasp
+the fact that William Sylvanus Baxter's cruel
+words about ``girls'' had been uttered because
+William was annoyed at being called ``Silly Bill''
+in a public place, and had not known how to
+object otherwise than by showing contempt for
+any topic of conversation proposed by the
+offender.  This latter, being of a disposition to
+accept statements as facts, was warmly interested,
+instead of being hurt, and decided that here
+was something worth talking about, especially
+with representatives of the class so sweepingly
+excluded from the sympathies of Silly Bill.
+
+William, meanwhile, made his way toward the
+``residence section'' of the town, and presently
+--with the passage of time found himself
+eased of his annoyance.  He walked in
+his own manner, using his shoulders to
+emphasize an effect of carelessness which he wished
+to produce upon observers.  For his consciousness
+of observers was abnormal, since he had
+it whether any one was looking at him or not,
+and it reached a crucial stage whenever he
+perceived persons of his own age, but of opposite
+sex, approaching.
+
+A person of this description was encountered
+upon the sidewalk within a hundred yards of his
+own home, and William Sylvanus Baxter saw her
+while yet she was afar off.  The quiet and shady
+thoroughfare was empty of all human life, at the
+time, save for those two; and she was upon the
+same side of the street that he was; thus it became
+inevitable that they should meet, face to face, for
+the first time in their lives.  He had perceived,
+even in the distance, that she was unknown to
+him, a stranger, because he knew all the girls in
+this part of the town who dressed as famously in
+the mode as that!  And then, as the distance
+between them lessened, he saw that she was
+ravishingly pretty; far, far prettier, indeed,
+than any girl he knew.  At least it seemed so,
+for it is, unfortunately, much easier for strangers
+to be beautiful.  Aside from this advantage of
+mystery, the approaching vision was piquant
+and graceful enough to have reminded a much
+older boy of a spotless white kitten, for, in spite
+of a charmingly managed demureness, there was
+precisely that kind of playfulness somewhere
+expressed about her.  Just now it was most
+definite in the look she bent upon the light and
+fluffy burden which she carried nestled in the
+inner curve of her right arm: a tiny dog with
+hair like cotton and a pink ribbon round his
+neck--an animal sated with indulgence and
+idiotically unaware of his privilege.  He was
+half asleep!
+
+William did not see the dog, or it is the plain,
+anatomical truth that when he saw how pretty
+the girl was, his heart--his physical heart--
+began to do things the like of which, experienced
+by an elderly person, would have brought the
+doctor in haste.  In addition, his complexion
+altered--he broke out in fiery patches.  He
+suffered from breathlessness and from pressure on
+the diaphragm.
+
+Afterward, he could not have named the color
+of the little parasol she carried in her left hand,
+and yet, as it drew nearer and nearer, a rosy haze
+suffused the neighborhood, and the whole world
+began to turn an exquisite pink.  Beneath this
+gentle glow, with eyes downcast in thought, she
+apparently took no note of William, even when
+she and William had come within a few yards of
+each other.  Yet he knew that she would look
+up and that their eyes must meet--a thing for
+which he endeavored to prepare himself by a
+strange weaving motion of his neck against the
+friction of his collar--for thus, instinctively, he
+strove to obtain greater ease and some decent
+appearance of manly indifference.  He felt that
+his efforts were a failure; that his agitation was
+ruinous and must be perceptible at a distance of
+miles, not feet.  And then, in the instant of
+panic that befell, when her dark-lashed eyelids
+slowly lifted, he had a flash of inspiration.
+
+He opened his mouth somewhat, and as her
+eyes met his, full and startlingly, he placed three
+fingers across the orifice, and also offered a slight
+vocal proof that she had surprised him in the
+midst of a yawn.
+
+``Oh, hum!'' he said.
+
+For the fraction of a second, the deep blue spark
+in her eyes glowed brighter--gentle arrows of
+turquoise shot him through and through--and
+then her glance withdrew from the ineffable
+collision.  Her small, white-shod feet continued
+to bear her onward, away from him, while his
+own dimmed shoes peregrinated in the opposite
+direction--William necessarily, yet with
+excruciating reluctance, accompanying them.  But
+just at the moment when he and the lovely
+creature were side by side, and her head turned
+from him, she spoke that is, she murmured, but
+he caught the words.
+
+``You Flopit, wake up!'' she said, in the tone of
+a mother talking baby-talk.  ``SO indifferink!''
+
+William's feet and his breath halted spasmodically. 
+For an instant he thought she had spoken
+to him, and then for the first time he perceived
+the fluffy head of the dog bobbing languidly
+over her arm, with the motion of her walking,
+and he comprehended that Flopit, and not
+William Sylvanus Baxter, was the gentleman
+addressed.  But--but had she MEANT him?
+
+His breath returning, though not yet operating
+in its usual manner, he stood gazing after her,
+
+while the glamorous parasol passed down the
+shady street, catching splashes of sunshine
+through the branches of the maple-trees; and
+the cottony head of the tiny dog continued to be
+visible, bobbing rhythmically over a filmy sleeve. 
+Had she meant that William was indifferent? 
+Was it William that she really addressed?
+
+He took two steps to follow her, but a suffocating
+shyness stopped him abruptly and, in a
+horror lest she should glance round and detect
+him in the act, he turned and strode fiercely to
+the gate of his own home before he dared to look
+again.  And when he did look, affecting great
+casualness in the action, she was gone, evidently
+having turned the corner.  Yet the street did
+not seem quite empty; there was still something
+warm and fragrant about it, and a rosy glamor
+lingered in the air.  William rested an elbow
+upon the gate-post, and with his chin reposing in
+his hand gazed long in the direction in which the
+unknown had vanished.  And his soul was tremulous,
+for she had done her work but too well.
+
+`` `Indifferink'!'' he murmured, thrilling at his
+own exceedingly indifferent imitation of her
+voice.  ``Indifferink!'' that was just what he
+would have her think--that he was a cold,
+indifferent man.  It was what he wished all girls
+to think.  And ``sarcastic''!  He had been envious
+one day when May Parcher said that Joe
+Bullitt was ``awfully sarcastic.''  William had
+spent the ensuing hour in an object-lesson
+intended to make Miss Parcher see that William
+Sylvanus Baxter was twice as sarcastic as Joe
+Bullitt ever thought of being, but this great
+effort had been unsuccessful, because William,
+failed to understand that Miss Parcher had only
+been sending a sort of message to Mr. Bullitt. 
+It was a device not unique among her sex; her
+hope was that William would repeat her remark
+in such a manner that Joe Bullitt would hear it
+and call to inquire what she meant.
+
+`` `SO indifferink'!'' murmured William,
+leaning dreamily upon the gate-post.  ``Indifferink!'' 
+He tried to get the exact cooing quality of the
+unknown's voice.  ``Indifferink!''  And, repeating
+the honeyed word, so entrancingly distorted, he
+fell into a kind of stupor; vague, beautiful
+pictures rising before him, the one least blurred being
+of himself, on horseback, sweeping between
+Flopit and a racing automobile.  And then,
+having restored the little animal to its mistress,
+William sat carelessly in the saddle (he had the
+Guardsman's seat) while the perfectly trained
+steed wheeled about, forelegs in the air, preparing
+to go.  ``But shall I not see you again, to thank
+you more properly?'' she cried, pleading.  ``Some
+other day--perhaps,'' he answered.
+
+And left her in a cloud of dust.
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE PAINFUL AGE
+
+``OH WILL--EE!''
+
+Thus a shrill voice, to his ears hideously
+different from that other, interrupted and dispersed
+his visions.  Little Jane, his ten-year-
+old sister, stood upon the front porch, the door
+open behind her, and in her hand she held a large
+slab of bread-and-butter covered with apple
+sauce and powdered sugar.  Evidence that she
+had sampled this compound was upon her cheeks,
+and to her brother she was a repulsive sight;.
+
+``Will-ee!'' she shrilled.  ``Look!  GOOD!'' 
+And to emphasize the adjective she indelicately
+patted the region of her body in which she
+believed her stomach to be located.  ``There's a
+slice for you on the dining-room table,'' she
+informed him, joyously.
+
+Outraged, he entered the house without a word
+to her, and, proceeding to the dining-room, laid
+hands upon the slice she had mentioned, but
+declined to eat it in Jane's company.  He was in
+an exalted mood, and though in no condition
+of mind or body would he refuse food of almost
+any kind, Jane was an intrusion he could not
+suffer at this time.
+
+He carried the refection to his own room and,
+locking the door, sat down to eat, while, even as he
+ate, the spell that was upon him deepened in intensity.
+
+``Oh, eyes!'' he whispered, softly, in that cool
+privacy and shelter from the world.  ``Oh, eyes
+of blue!''
+
+The mirror of a dressing-table sent him the
+reflection of his own eyes, which also were blue;
+and he gazed upon them and upon the rest of his
+image the while he ate his bread-and-butter and
+apple sauce and sugar.  Thus, watching himself
+eat, he continued to stare dreamily at the mirror
+until the bread-and-butter and apple sauce and
+sugar had disappeared, whereupon he rose and
+approached the dressing-table to study himself
+at greater advantage.
+
+He assumed as repulsive an expression as he
+could command, at the same time making the
+kingly gesture of one who repels unwelcome
+attentions; and it is beyond doubt that he was thus
+acting a little scene of indifference.  Other symbolic
+dramas followed, though an invisible observer
+might have been puzzled for a key to some
+of them.  One, however, would have proved
+easily intelligible: his expression having altered
+to a look of pity and contrition, he turned
+from the mirror, and, walking slowly to a
+chair across the room, used his right hand in
+a peculiar manner, seeming to stroke the air
+at a point about ten inches above the back
+of the chair.  ``There, there, little girl,'' he
+said in a low, gentle voice.  ``I didn't know you
+cared!''
+
+Then, with a rather abrupt dismissal of this
+theme, he returned to the mirror and, after a
+questioning scrutiny, nodded solemnly, forming
+with his lips the words, ``The real thing--the real
+thing at last!''  He meant that, after many
+imitations had imposed upon him, Love--the real
+thing--had come to him in the end.  And as he
+turned away he murmured, ``And even her name
+--unknown!''
+
+This evidently was a thought that continued to
+occupy him, for he walked up and down the room,
+frowning; but suddenly his brow cleared and his
+eye lit with purpose.  Seating himself at a small
+writing-table by the window, he proceeded to
+express his personality--though with considerable
+labor--in something which he did not doubt to be
+a poem.
+
+Three-quarters of an hour having sufficed for
+its completion, including ``rewriting and polish,''
+he solemnly signed it, and then read it several
+times in a state of hushed astonishment.  He had
+never dreamed that he could do anything like
+this.
+
+               MILADY
+     I do not know her name
+     Though it would be the same
+     Where roses bloom at twilight
+     And the lark takes his flight
+     It would be the same anywhere
+     Where music sounds in air
+     I was never introduced to the lady
+     So I could not call her Lass or Sadie
+     So I will call her Milady
+     By the sands of the sea
+     She always will be
+     Just M'lady to me.
+                    --WILLIAM SYLVANUS BAXTER, Esq., July 14
+
+
+It is impossible to say how many times he
+might have read the poem over, always with
+increasing amazement at his new-found powers,
+had he not been interrupted by the odious voice
+of Jane.
+
+``Will--ee!''
+
+To William, in his high and lonely mood, this
+piercing summons brought an actual shudder, and
+the very thought of Jane (with tokens of apple
+sauce and sugar still upon her cheek, probably)
+seemed a kind of sacrilege.  He fiercely swore his
+favorite oath, acquired from the hero of a work of
+fiction he admired, ``Ye gods!'' and concealed his
+poem in the drawer of the writing-table, for Jane's
+footsteps were approaching his door.
+
+``Will--ee!  Mamma wants you.''  She tried
+the handle of the door.
+
+``G'way!'' he said.
+
+``Will--ee!''  Jane hammered upon the door
+with her fist.  ``Will--ee!''
+
+``What you want?'' he shouted.
+
+Jane explained, certain pauses indicating that
+her attention was partially diverted to another
+slice of bread-and-butter and apple sauce and
+sugar.  ``Will--ee, mamma wants you--wants
+you to go help Genesis bring some wash-tubs
+home and a tin clo'es-boiler--from the second-
+hand man's store.''
+
+``WHAT!''
+
+Jane repeated the outrageous message,
+adding, ``She wants you to hurry--and I got some
+more bread-and-butter and apple sauce and
+sugar for comin' to tell you.''
+
+William left no doubt in Jane's mind about
+his attitude in reference to the whole matter. 
+His refusal was direct and infuriated, but, in the
+midst of a multitude of plain statements which he
+was making, there was a decisive tapping upon
+the door at a point higher than Jane could reach,
+and his mother's voice interrupted:
+
+``Hush, Willie!  Open the door, please.''
+
+He obeyed furiously, and Mrs. Baxter walked
+in with a deprecating air, while Jane followed, so
+profoundly interested that, until almost the close
+of the interview, she held her bread-and-butter
+and apple sauce and sugar at a sort of way-
+station on its journey to her mouth.
+
+``That's a nice thing to ask me to do!'' stormed
+the unfortunate William.  ``Ye gods!  Do you
+think Joe Bullitt's mother would dare to--''
+
+``Wait, dearie!'' Mrs. Baxter begged, pacifically. 
+``I just want to explain--''
+
+`` `Explain'!  Ye gods!''
+
+``Now, now, just a minute, Willie!'' she said. 
+``What I wanted to explain was why it's necessary
+for you to go with Genesis for the--''
+
+``Never!'' he shouted.  ``Never!  You expect
+me to walk through the public streets with that
+awful-lookin' old nigger--''
+
+``Genesis isn't old,'' she managed to interpolate. 
+``He--''
+
+But her frantic son disregarded her.  ``Second-
+hand wash-tubs!'' he vociferated.  ``And tin
+clothes-boilers!  THAT'S what you want your SON
+to carry through the public streets in broad daylight! 
+Ye gods!''
+
+``Well, there isn't anybody else,'' she said. 
+``Please don't rave so, Willie, and say `Ye gods'
+so much; it really isn't nice.  I'm sure nobody 'll
+notice you--''
+
+`` `Nobody'!''  His voice cracked in anguish. 
+``Oh no!  Nobody except the whole town!  WHY,
+when there's anything disgusting has to be done
+
+in this family--why do _I_ always have to be the
+one?  Why can't Genesis bring the second-hand
+wash-tubs without ME?  Why can't the second-
+hand store deliver 'em?  Why can't--''
+
+``That's what I want to tell you,'' she
+interposed, hurriedly, and as the youth lifted his
+arms on high in a gesture of ultimate despair,
+and then threw himself miserably into a chair, she
+obtained the floor.  ``The second-hand store
+doesn't deliver things,'' she said.  ``I bought
+them at an auction, and it's going out of business,
+and they have to be taken away before half past
+four this afternoon.  Genesis can't bring them
+in the wheelbarrow, because, he says, the wheel is
+broken, and he says he can't possibly carry two
+tubs and a wash-boiler himself; and he can't
+make two trips because it's a mile and a half,
+and I don't like to ask him, anyway; and it
+would take too long, because he has to get back
+and finish cutting the grass before your papa
+gets home this evening.  Papa said he HAD to! 
+Now, I don't like to ask you, but it really isn't
+much.  You and Genesis can just slip up there
+and--''
+
+``Slip!'' moaned William.  `` `Just SLIP up there''! 
+Ye gods!''
+
+``Genesis is waiting on the back porch,'' she
+said.  ``Really it isn't worth your making all this
+fuss about.''
+
+``Oh no!'' he returned, with plaintive satire. 
+``It's nothing!  Nothing at all!''
+
+``Why, _I_ shouldn't mind it,'' she said; briskly,
+``if I had the time.  In fact, I'll have to, if you
+won't.''
+
+``Ye gods!''  He clasped his head in his hands,
+crushed, for he knew that the curse was upon him
+and he must go.  ``Ye gods!''
+
+And then, as he stamped to the door, his tragic
+eye fell upon Jane, and he emitted a final cry of
+pain:
+
+``Can't you EVER wash your face?'' he shouted;
+
+
+
+IV
+
+GENESIS AND CLEMATIS
+
+Genesis and his dog were waiting just outside
+the kitchen door, and of all the world
+these two creatures were probably the last in
+whose company William Sylvanus Baxter desired
+to make a public appearance.  Genesis was an
+out-of-doors man and seldom made much of a
+toilet; his overalls in particular betraying at
+important points a lack of the anxiety he should
+have felt, since only Genesis himself, instead of a
+supplementary fabric, was directly underneath
+them.  And the aged, grayish, sleeveless and
+neckless garment which sheltered him from waist
+to collar-bone could not have been mistaken for a
+jersey, even though what there was of it was
+dimly of a jerseyesque character.  Upon the feet
+of Genesis were things which careful study would
+have revealed to be patent-leather dancing-
+pumps, long dead and several times buried; and
+upon his head, pressing down his markedly criminal
+ears, was a once-derby hat of a brown not
+far from Genesis's own color, though decidedly
+without his gloss.  A large ring of strange metals
+with the stone missing, adorned a finger of his
+right hand, and from a corner of his mouth
+projected an unlighted and spreading cigar stub
+which had the appearance of belonging to its
+present owner merely by right of salvage.
+
+And Genesis's dog, scratching himself at his
+master's feet, was the true complement of Genesis,
+for although he was a youngish dog, and had
+not long been the property of Genesis, he was a
+dog that would have been recognized anywhere
+in the world as a colored person's dog.  He was
+not a special breed of dog--though there was
+something rather houndlike about him--he was
+just a dog.  His expression was grateful but
+anxious, and he was unusually bald upon the bosom,
+but otherwise whitish and brownish, with a gaunt,
+haunting face and no power to look anybody in
+the eye.
+
+He rose apprehensively as the fuming William
+came out of the kitchen, but he was prepared to
+follow his master faithfully, and when William
+and Genesis reached the street the dog was
+discovered at their heels, whereupon William came
+to a decisive halt.
+
+``Send that dog back,'' he said, resolutely. 
+``I'm not going through the streets with a dog
+like that, anyhow!''
+
+Genesis chuckled.  ``He ain' goin' back,'' he
+said.  `` 'Ain' nobody kin make 'at dog go back.  I
+'ain' had him mo'n two weeks, but I don' b'lieve
+Pres'dent United States kin make 'at dog go
+back!  I show you.''  And, wheeling suddenly,
+he made ferocious gestures, shouting.  ``G'on back,
+dog!''
+
+The dog turned, ran back a few paces, halted,
+and then began to follow again, whereupon Genesis
+pretended to hurl stones at him; but the
+animal only repeated his manoeuver--and he
+repeated it once more when William aided Genesis
+by using actual missiles, which were dodged with
+almost careless adeptness.
+
+``I'll show him!'' said William, hotly.  ``I'll
+show him he can't follow ME!''  He charged upon
+the dog, shouting fiercely, and this seemed to do
+the work, for the hunted animal, abandoning his
+partial flights, turned a tucked-under tail, ran all
+the way back to the alley, and disappeared from
+sight.  ``There!'' said William.  ``I guess that 'll
+show him!''
+
+``I ain' bettin' on it!'' said Genesis, as they
+went on.  ``He nev' did stop foll'in' me yet.  I
+reckon he the foll'indest dog in the worl'!  Name
+Clem.''
+
+``Well, he can't follow ME!'' said the surging
+William, in whose mind's eye lingered the vision
+of an exquisite doglet, with pink-ribboned throat
+and a cottony head bobbing gently over a
+filmy sleeve.  ``He doesn't come within a mile of
+ME, no matter what his name is!''
+
+``Name Clem fer short,'' said Genesis, amiably. 
+``I trade in a mandoline fer him what had her
+neck kind o' busted off on one side.  I couldn'
+play her nohow, an' I found her, anyways.  Yes-
+suh, I trade in 'at mandoline fer him 'cause always
+did like to have me a good dog--but I d'in'
+have me no name fer him; an' this here Blooie
+Bowers, what I trade in the mandoline to, he say
+HE d'in have no name fer him.  Say nev' did know
+if WAS a name fer him 'tall.  So I'z spen' the
+evenin' at 'at lady's house, Fanny, what used to
+be cook fer Miz Johnson, nex' do' you' maw's;
+an' I ast Fanny what am I go'n' a do about it, an' 
+Fanny say, `Call him Clematis,' she say.  ` 'At's
+a nice name!' she say.  `Clematis.' So 'at's name
+I name him, Clematis.  Call him Clem fer short,
+but Clematis his real name.  He'll come, whichever
+one you call him, Clem or Clematis.  Make
+no diff'ence to him, long's he git his vittles.  Clem
+or Clematis, HE ain' carin'!''
+
+William's ear was deaf to this account of the
+naming of Clematis; he walked haughtily, but as
+rapidly as possible, trying to keep a little in
+advance of his talkative companion, who had
+never received the training as a servitor which
+should have taught him his proper distance from
+the Young Master.  William's suffering eyes were
+fixed upon remoteness; and his lips moved, now
+and then, like a martyr's, pronouncing inaudibly
+a sacred word.  ``Milady!  Oh, Milady!''
+
+Thus they had covered some three blocks of
+their journey--the too-democratic Genesis chatting
+companionably and William burning with
+mortification--when the former broke into loud
+laughter.
+
+``What I tell you?'' he cried, pointing ahead. 
+``Look ayonnuh!  NO, suh, Pres'dent United
+States hisse'f ain' go tell 'at dog stay home!''
+
+And there, at the corner before them, waited
+Clematis, roguishly lying in a mud-puddle in the
+gutter.  He had run through alleys parallel to
+their course--and in the face of such demoniac
+cunning the wretched William despaired of
+evading his society.  Indeed, there was nothing
+to do but to give up, and so the trio proceeded,
+with William unable to decide which contaminated
+him more, Genesis or the loyal Clematis. 
+To his way of thinking, he was part of a dreadful
+pageant, and he winced pitiably whenever the eye
+of a respectable passer-by fell upon him.  Everybody
+seemed to stare--nay, to leer!  And he felt
+that the whole world would know his shame by
+nightfall.
+
+Nobody, he reflected, seeing him in such
+company, could believe that he belonged to ``one of
+the oldest and best families in town.''  Nobody
+would understand that he was not walking with
+Genesis for the pleasure of his companionship
+--until they got the tubs and the wash-
+boiler, when his social condition must be thought
+even more degraded.  And nobody, he was shudderingly
+positive, could see that Clematis was not
+his dog (Clematis kept himself humbly a little in
+the rear, but how was any observer to know that
+he belonged to Genesis and not to William?
+
+And how frightful that THIS should befall him
+on such a day, the very day that his soul had been
+split asunder by the turquoise shafts of Milady's
+eyes and he had learned to know the Real Thing
+at last!
+
+``Milady!  Oh, Milady!''
+
+For in the elder teens adolescence may be
+completed, but not by experience, and these years
+know their own tragedies.  It is the time of life
+when one finds it unendurable not to seem perfect
+in all outward matters: in worldly position, in
+the equipments of wealth, in family, and in the
+grace, elegance, and dignity of all appearances in
+public.  And yet the youth is continually betrayed
+by the child still intermittently insistent
+within him, and by the child which undiplomatic
+people too often assume him to be.  Thus with
+William's attire: he could ill have borne any
+suggestion that it was not of the mode, but taking
+care of it was a different matter.  Also, when it
+came to his appetite, he could and would eat
+anything at any time, but something younger than
+his years led him--often in semi-secrecy--to
+candy-stores and soda-water fountains and ice-
+cream parlors; he still relished green apples and
+knew cravings for other dangerous inedibles. 
+But these survivals were far from painful to him;
+what injured his sensibilities was the disposition
+on the part of people especially his parents, and
+frequently his aunts and uncles--to regard him
+as a little boy.  Briefly, the deference his soul
+demanded in its own right, not from strangers
+only, but from his family, was about that which
+is supposed to be shown a Grand Duke visiting
+his Estates.  Therefore William suffered often.
+
+But the full ignominy of the task his own
+mother had set him this afternoon was not realized
+until he and Genesis set forth upon the return
+journey from the second-hand shop, bearing the
+two wash-tubs, a clothes-wringer (which Mrs.
+Baxter had forgotten to mention), and the tin
+boiler--and followed by the lowly Clematis.
+
+
+
+V
+
+SORROWS WITHIN A BOILER
+
+There was something really pageant-like
+about the little excursion now, and the glittering
+clothes-boiler, borne on high, sent flashing
+lights far down the street.  The wash-tubs were
+old-fashioned, of wood; they refused to fit one
+within the other; so William, with his right hand,
+and Genesis, with his left, carried one of the tubs
+between them; Genesis carried the heavy wringer
+with his right hand, and he had fastened the other
+tub upon his back by means of a bit of rope
+which passed over his shoulder; thus the tin
+boiler, being a lighter burden, fell to William.
+
+The cover would not stay in place, but
+continually fell off when he essayed to carry the
+boiler by one of its handles, and he made shift to
+manage the accursed thing in various ways--the
+only one proving physically endurable being,
+unfortunately, the most grotesque.  He was forced
+to carry the cover in his left hand and to place his
+head partially within the boiler itself, and to support
+it--tilted obliquely to rest upon his shoulders
+--as a kind of monstrous tin cowl or helmet. 
+This had the advantage of somewhat concealing
+his face, though when he leaned his head back, in
+order to obtain clearer vision of what was before
+him, the boiler slid off and fell to the pavement
+with a noise that nearly caused a runaway, and
+brought the hot-cheeked William much derisory
+attention from a passing street-car.  However, he
+presently caught the knack of keeping it in position,
+and it fell no more.
+
+Seen from the rear, William was unrecognizable
+--but interesting.  He appeared to be a walking
+clothes-boiler, armed with a shield and connected,
+by means of a wash-tub, with a negro of informal
+ideas concerning dress.  In fact, the group was
+whimsical, and three young people who turned in
+behind it, out of a cross-street, indulged immediately
+in fits of inadequately suppressed laughter,
+though neither Miss May Parcher nor Mr.
+Johnnie Watson even remotely suspected that
+the legs beneath the clothes-boiler belonged to
+an acquaintance.  And as for the third of this
+little party, Miss Parcher's visitor, those
+peregrinating legs suggested nothing familiar to her.
+
+``Oh, see the fun-ee laundrymans!'' she cried,
+addressing a cottony doglet's head that bobbed
+gently up and down over her supporting arm. 
+``Sweetest Flopit must see, too!  Flopit, look at
+the fun-ee laundrymans!''
+
+`` 'Sh!'' murmured Miss Parcher, choking.  ``He
+might hear you.''
+
+He might, indeed, since they were not five
+yards behind him and the dulcet voice was clear
+and free.  Within the shadowy interior of the
+clothes-boiler were features stricken with sudden,
+utter horror.  ``FLOPIT!''
+
+The attention of Genesis was attracted by a
+convulsive tugging of the tub which he supported
+in common with William; it seemed passionately
+to urge greater speed.  A hissing issued from the
+boiler, and Genesis caught the words, huskily
+whispered:
+
+``Walk faster!  You got to walk faster.''
+
+The tub between them tugged forward with a
+pathos of appeal wasted upon the easy-going
+Genesis.
+
+``I got plenty time cut 'at grass befo' you' pa
+gits home,'' he said, reassuringly.  ``Thishere
+rope what I got my extry tub slung to is 'mos'
+wo' plum thew my hide.''
+
+Having uttered this protest, he continued to
+ambulate at the same pace, though somewhat
+assisted by the forward pull of the connecting
+tub, an easance of burden which he found pleasant;
+and no supplementary message came from
+the clothes-boiler, for the reason that it was
+incapable of further speech.  And so the two groups
+maintained for a time their relative positions,
+about fifteen feet apart.
+
+The amusement of the second group having
+abated through satiety, the minds of its components
+turned to other topics.  ``Now Flopit must
+have his darlin' 'ickle run,'' said Flopit's mistress,
+setting the doglet upon the ground.  ``That's
+why sweetest Flopit and I and all of us came for
+a walk, instead of sitting on the nice, cool porch-
+kins.  SEE the sweetie toddle!  Isn't he adorable,
+May?  ISN'T he adorable, Mr. Watson?''
+
+Mr. Watson put a useless sin upon his soul,
+since all he needed to say was a mere ``Yes.'' 
+He fluently avowed himself to have become
+insane over the beauty of Flopit.
+
+Flopit, placed upon the ground, looked like
+something that had dropped from a Christmas
+tree, and he automatically made use of fuzzy
+legs, somewhat longer than a caterpillar's, to
+patter after his mistress.  He was neither
+enterprising nor inquisitive; he kept close to the rim
+of her skirt, which was as high as he could see,
+and he wished to be taken up and carried again. 
+He was in a half-stupor; it was his desire to
+remain in that condition, and his propulsion was
+almost wholly subconscious, though surprisingly
+rapid, considering his dimensions.
+
+``My goo'ness!'' exclaimed Genesis, glancing
+back over his shoulder.  `` 'At li'l' thing ack like
+he think he go'n a GIT somewheres!''  And then, in
+answer to a frantic pull upon the tub, ``Look like
+you mighty strong t'day,'' he said.  ``I cain' go
+no fastuh!''  He glanced back again, chuckling. 
+`` 'At li'l' bird do well not mix up nothin' 'ith ole
+man Clematis!''
+
+Clematis, it happened, was just coming into
+view, having been detained round the corner by
+his curiosity concerning a set of Louis XVI.
+furniture which some house-movers were unpacking
+upon the sidewalk.  A curl of excelsior, in fact,
+had attached itself to his nether lip, and he was
+pausing to remove it--when his roving eye fell
+upon Flopit.  Clematis immediately decided to
+let the excelsior remain where it was, lest he miss
+something really important.
+
+He approached with glowing eagerness at a
+gallop.
+
+Then, having almost reached his goal, he
+checked himself with surprising abruptness and
+walked obliquely beside Flopit, but upon a parallel
+course, his manner agitated and his brow
+furrowed with perplexity.  Flopit was about the
+size of Clematis's head, and although Clematis
+was certain that Flopit was something alive, he
+could not decide what.
+
+Flopit paid not the slightest attention to
+Clematis.  The self-importance of dogs, like that of
+the minds of men, is in directly inverse ratio to
+their size; and if the self-importance of Flopit
+could have been taken out of him and given to
+an elephant, that elephant would have been
+insufferable.
+
+Flopit continued to pay no attention to
+Clematis.
+
+All at once, a roguish and irresponsible mood
+seized upon Clematis; he laid his nose upon the
+ground, deliberating a bit of gaiety, and then,
+with a little rush, set a large, rude paw upon the
+sensitive face of Flopit and capsized him.  Flopit
+uttered a bitter complaint in an asthmatic voice.
+
+``Oh, nassy dray bid Horror!'' cried his
+mistress, turning quickly at this sound and waving a
+pink parasol at Clematis.  ``Shoo!  DIRTY dog! 
+Go 'way!''  And she was able somehow to connect
+him with the wash-tub and boiler, for she
+added, ``Nassy laundrymans to have bad
+doggies!''
+
+Mr. Watson rushed upon Clematis with angry
+bellowings and imaginary missiles.  ``You
+disgusting brute!'' he roared.  ``How DARE you?''
+
+Apparently much alarmed, Clematis lowered
+his ears, tucked his tail underneath him, and fled
+to the rear, not halting once or looking back until
+he disappeared round the corner whence he had
+come.  ``There!'' said Mr. Watson.  ``I guess HE
+won't bother us again very soon!''
+
+It must be admitted that Milady was one of
+those people who do not mind being overheard,
+no matter what they say.  ``Lucky for us,'' she
+said, ``we had a nice dray bid MANS to protect
+us, wasn't it, Flopit?''  And she thought it
+necessary to repeat something she had already made
+sufficiently emphatic.
+
+``Nassy laundrymans!''
+
+``I expect I gave that big mongrel the fright
+of his life,'' said Mr. Watson, with complacency. 
+``He'll probably run a mile!''
+
+The shoulders of Genesis shook as he was towed
+along by the convulsive tub.  He knew from previous
+evidence that Clematis possessed both a
+high quality and a large quantity of persistence,
+and it was his hilarious opinion that the dog had
+not gone far.  As a matter of fact, the head of
+Clematis was at this moment cautiously extended
+from behind the fence-post at the corner whither
+he had fled.  Viewing with growing assurance the
+scene before him, he permitted himself to emerge
+wholly, and sat down, with his head tilted to
+one side in thought.  Almost at the next corner
+the clothes-boiler with legs, and the wash-tubs,
+and Genesis were marching on; and just behind
+them went three figures not so familiar to Clematis,
+and connected in his mind with a vague,
+mild apprehension.  But all backs were safely
+toward him, and behind them pattered that small
+live thing which had so profoundly interested him.
+
+He rose and came on apace, silently.
+
+When he reached the side of Flopit, some eight
+or nine seconds later, Clematis found himself even
+more fascinated and perplexed than during their
+former interview, though again Flopit seemed
+utterly to disregard him.  Clematis was not at
+all sure that Flopit WAS a dog, but he felt that
+it was his business to find out.  Heaven knows,
+so far, Clematis had not a particle of animosity
+in his heart, but he considered it his duty to himself--
+in case Flopit turned out not to be a dog--
+to learn just what he was.  The thing might be
+edible.
+
+Therefore, again pacing obliquely beside Flopit
+(while the human beings ahead went on, unconscious
+of the approaching climax behind them)
+Clematis sought to detect, by senses keener than
+sight, some evidence of Flopit's standing in the
+zoological kingdom; and, sniffing at the top of
+Flopit's head--though Clematis was uncertain
+about its indeed being a head--he found himself
+baffled and mentally much disturbed.
+
+Flopit did not smell like a dog; he smelled of
+violets.
+
+
+
+VI
+
+TRUCULENCE
+
+Clematis frowned and sneezed as the infinitesimal
+particles of sachet powder settled in
+the lining of his nose.  He became serious, and
+was conscious of a growing feeling of dislike; he
+began to be upset over the whole matter.  But
+his conscience compelled him to persist in his
+attempt to solve the mystery; and also he remembered
+that one should be courteous, no matter
+what some other thing chooses to be.  Hence he
+sought to place his nose in contact with Flopit's,
+for he had perceived on the front of the
+mysterious stranger a buttony something which
+might possibly be a nose.
+
+Flopit evaded the contact.  He felt that he
+had endured about enough from this Apache, and
+that it was nearly time to destroy him.  Having
+no experience of battle, save with bedroom
+slippers and lace handkerchiefs, Flopit had little
+doubt of his powers as a warrior.  Betrayed by
+his majestic self-importance, he had not the
+remotest idea that he was small.  Usually he saw
+the world from a window, or from the seat of
+an automobile, or over his mistress's arm.  He
+looked down on all dogs, thought them ruffianly,
+despised them; and it is the miraculous truth
+that not only was he unaware that he was
+small, but he did not even know that he was a
+dog, himself.  He did not think about himself in
+that way.
+
+From these various ignorances of his sprang
+his astonishing, his incredible, valor.  Clematis,
+with head lowered close to Flopit's, perceived
+something peering at him from beneath the
+tangled curtain of cottony, violet-scented stuff
+which seemed to be the upper part of Flopit's
+face.  It was Flopit's eye, a red-rimmed eye and
+sore--and so demoniacally malignant that Clematis,
+indescribably startled, would have withdrawn
+his own countenance at once--but it was
+too late.  With a fearful oath Flopit sprang
+upward and annexed himself to the under lip of the
+horrified Clematis.
+
+Horror gave place to indignation instantly; and
+as Miss Parcher and her guest turned, screaming,
+Clematis's self-command went all to pieces. 
+
+Miss Parcher became faint and leaned against
+the hedge along which they had been passing, but
+her visitor continued to scream, while Mr. Watson
+endeavored to kick Clematis without ruining
+Flopit--a difficult matter.
+
+Flopit was baresark from the first, and the
+mystery is where he learned the dog-cursing that
+he did.  In spite of the David-and-Goliath difference
+in size it would be less than justice to deny
+that a very fair dog-fight took place.  It was so
+animated, in truth, that the one expert in such
+matters who was present found himself warmly
+interested.  Genesis relieved himself of the burden
+of the wash-tub upon his back, dropped the
+handle of that other in which he had a half-
+interest, and watched the combat; his mouth,
+like his eyes, wide open in simple pleasure.
+
+He was not destined to enjoy the spectacle to
+the uttermost; a furious young person struck
+him a frantic, though harmless, blow with a pink
+parasol.
+
+``You stop them!'' she screamed.  ``You make
+that horrible dog stop, or I'll have you arrested!''
+
+Genesis rushed forward.
+
+``You CLEM!'' he shouted.
+
+And instantly Clematis was but a whitish and
+brownish streak along the hedge.  He ran like a
+dog in a moving picture when they speed the
+film, and he shot from sight, once more, round
+the corner, while Flopit, still cursing, was seized
+and squeezed in his mistress's embrace.
+
+But she was not satisfied.  ``Where's that
+laundryman with the tin thing on his head?'' she
+demanded.  ``He ought to be arrested for having
+such a dog.  It's HIS dog, isn't it?  Where is
+he?''
+
+Genesis turned and looked round about the
+horizon, mystified.  William Sylvanus Baxter and
+the clothes-boiler had disappeared from sight.
+
+``If he owns that dog,'' asserted the still furious
+owner of Flopit, ``I WILL have him arrested.''
+Where is he? Where is that laundryman?''
+
+``Why, he,'' Genesis began slowly, ``HE ain' no
+laundrym--''  He came to an uncertain pause. 
+If she chose to assume, with quick feminine intuition,
+that the dog was William's and that William
+was a laundryman, it was not Genesis's place to
+enlighten her.  `` 'Tic'larly,'' he reflected, ``since
+she talk so free about gittin' people 'rested!'' 
+He became aware that William had squirmed
+through the hedge and now lay prostrate on the
+other side of it, but this, likewise, was something
+within neither his duty nor his inclination to
+reveal.
+
+``Thishere laundryman,'' said Genesis, resuming--
+``thishere laundryman what own the dog,
+I reckon he mus' hopped on 'at street-car what
+went by.''
+
+``Well, he OUGHT to be arrested!'' she said, and,
+pressing her cheek to Flopit's, she changed her
+tone.  ``Izzum's ickle heart a-beatin' so floppity! 
+Um's own mumsy make ums all right, um's
+p'eshus Flopit!'
+
+Then with the consoling Miss Parcher's arm
+about her, and Mr. Watson even more dazzled
+with love than when he had first met her, some
+three hours past, she made her way between
+the tubs, and passed on down the street.  Not
+till the three (and Flopit) were out of sight
+did William come forth from the hedge.
+
+``Hi yah!'' exclaimed Genesis.  `` 'At lady go'n a
+'rest ev'y man what own a dog, 'f she had her
+way!''
+
+But William spoke no word.
+
+In silence, then, they resumed their burdens
+and their journey.  Clematis was waiting for
+them at the corner ahead.
+
+
+
+VII
+
+MR. BAXTER'S EVENING CLOTHES
+
+That evening, at about half-past seven
+o'clock, dinner being over and Mr. and Mrs.
+Baxter (parents of William) seated in the library,
+Mrs. Baxter said:
+
+``I think it's about time for you to go and dress
+for your Emerson Club meeting, papa, if you
+intend to go.''
+
+``Do I have to dress?'' Mr. Baxter asked,
+plaintively.
+
+``I think nearly all the men do, don't they?''
+she insisted.
+
+``But I'm getting old enough not to have to,
+don't you think, mamma?'' he urged, appealingly. 
+``When a man's my age--''
+
+``Nonsense!'' she said.  ``Your figure is exactly
+like William's.  It's the figure that really shows
+age first, and yours hasn't begun to.''  And she
+added, briskly, ``Go along like a good boy and
+get it ever!''
+
+Mr. Baxter rose submissively and went up-
+stairs to do as he was bid.  But, after fifteen or
+twenty minutes, during which his footsteps had
+been audible in various parts of the house, he
+called down over the banisters:
+
+``I can't find 'em.''
+
+``Can't find what?''
+
+``My evening clothes.  They aren't anywhere
+in the house.''
+
+``Where did you put them the last time you
+wore them?'' she called.
+
+``I don't know.  I haven't had 'em on since
+last spring.''
+
+``All right; I'll come,'' she said, putting her
+sewing upon the table and rising.  ``Men never
+can find anything,'' she observed, additionally, as
+she ascended the stairs.  ``Especially their own
+things!''
+
+On this occasion, however, as she was obliged
+to admit a little later, women were not more
+efficacious than the duller sex.  Search high,
+search low, no trace of Mr. Baxter's evening
+clothes were to be found.  ``Perhaps William
+could find them,'' said Mrs. Baxter, a final
+confession of helplessness.
+
+But William was no more to be found than
+the missing apparel.  William, in fact, after
+spending some time in the lower back hall, listening
+to the quest above, had just gone out through
+the kitchen door.  And after some ensuing futile
+efforts, Mr. Baxter was forced to proceed to his
+club in the accoutrements of business.
+
+He walked slowly, enjoying the full moon,
+which sailed up a river in the sky--the open space
+between the trees that lined the street--and as he
+passed the house of Mr. Parcher he noted the fine
+white shape of a masculine evening bosom gleaming
+in the moonlight on the porch.  A dainty figure
+in white sat beside it, and there was another
+white figure present, though this one was
+so small that Mr. Baxter did not see it at all.  It
+was the figure of a tiny doglet, and it reposed
+upon the black masculine knees that belonged to
+the evening bosom.
+
+Mr. Baxter heard a dulcet voice.
+
+``He IS indifferink, isn't he, sweetest Flopit? 
+Seriously, though, Mr. Watson was telling me
+about you to-day.  He says you're the most
+indifferent man he knows.  He says you don't
+care two minutes whether a girl lives or dies. 
+Isn't he a mean ole wicked sing, p'eshus Flopit!''
+
+The reply was inaudible, and Mr. Baxter
+passed on, having recognized nothing of his
+own.
+
+``These YOUNG fellows don't have any trouble
+finding their dress-suits, I guess,'' he murmured. 
+``Not on a night like this!''
+
+
+.  .  .  Thus William, after a hard day, came
+to the gates of his romance, entering those portals
+of the moon in triumph.  At one stroke his dashing
+raiment gave him high superiority over Johnnie
+Watson and other rivals who might loom. 
+But if he had known to what undoing this great
+coup exposed him, it is probable that Mr. Baxter
+would have appeared at the Emerson Club, that
+night, in evening clothes.
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+JANE
+
+William's period of peculiar sensitiveness
+dated from that evening, and Jane, in
+particular, caused him a great deal of anxiety. 
+In fact, he began to feel that Jane was a
+mortification which his parents might have spared him,
+with no loss to themselves or to the world.  Not
+having shown that consideration for anybody,
+they might at least have been less spinelessly
+indulgent of her.  William's bitter conviction
+was that he had never seen a child so starved of
+discipline or so lost to etiquette as Jane.
+
+For one thing, her passion for bread-and-butter,
+covered with apple sauce and powdered sugar,
+was getting to be a serious matter.  Secretly,
+William was not yet so changed by love as to be
+wholly indifferent to this refection himself, but
+his consumption of it was private, whereas Jane
+had formed the habit of eating it in exposed places
+--such as the front yard or the sidewalk.  At
+no hour of the day was it advisable for a relative
+to approach the neighborhood in fastidious
+company, unless prepared to acknowledge kinship
+with a spindly young person either eating
+bread-and-butter and apple sauce and powdered
+sugar, or all too visibly just having eaten bread-
+and-butter and apple sauce and powdered sugar. 
+Moreover, there were times when Jane had
+worse things than apple sauce to answer for, as
+William made clear to his mother in an oration
+as hot as the July noon sun which looked down
+upon it.
+
+Mrs. Baxter was pleasantly engaged with a
+sprinkling-can and some small flower-beds in the
+shady back yard, and Jane, having returned from
+various sidewalk excursions, stood close by as a
+spectator, her hands replenished with the favorite
+food and her chin rising and falling in gentle
+motions, little prophecies of the slight distensions
+which passed down her slender throat with slow,
+rhythmic regularity.  Upon this calm scene came
+William, plunging round a corner of the house,
+furious yet plaintive.
+
+``You've got to do something about that
+child!'' he began.  ``I CAN not stand it!''
+
+Jane looked at him dumbly, not ceasing, how
+ever, to eat; while Mrs. Baxter thoughtfully
+continued her sprinkling.
+
+``You've been gone all morning, Willie,'' she
+said.  ``I thought your father mentioned at
+breakfast that he expected you to put in at
+least four hours a day on your mathematics
+and--''
+
+``That's neither here nor there,'' William
+returned, vehemently.  ``I just want to say this:
+if you don't do something about Jane, I will! 
+Just look at her!  LOOK at her, I ask you!  That's
+just the way she looked half an hour ago, out on
+the public sidewalk in front of the house, when I
+came by here with Miss PRATT!  That was pleasant,
+wasn't it?  To be walking with a lady on the
+public street and meet a member of my family
+looking like that!  Oh, LOVELY!''
+
+In the anguish of this recollection his voice
+cracked, and though his eyes were dry his gestures
+wept for him.  Plainly, he was about to reach the
+most lamentable portion of his narrative.  ``And
+then she HOLLERED at me!  She hollered, `Oh,
+WILL--EE!'  Here he gave an imitation of Jane's
+voice, so damnatory that Jane ceased to eat for
+several moments and drew herself up with a kind
+of dignity.  ``She hollered, `Oh, WILL--EE' at me!''
+he stormed.  ``Anybody would think I was about
+six years old!  She hollered, `Oh, Will--ee,' and
+she rubbed her stomach and slushed apple sauce
+all over her face, and she kept hollering,
+`Will--ee!' with her mouth full.  `Will--ee,
+look!  Good!  Bread-and-butter and apple
+sauce and sugar!  I bet you wish YOU had
+some, Will--ee!' ''
+
+``You did eat some, the other day,'' said Jane.
+``You ate a whole lot.  You eat it every chance
+you get!''
+
+``You hush up!'' he shouted, and returned to
+his description of the outrage.  ``She kept FOLLOWING
+us!  She followed us, hollering, `WILL--EE!'
+till it's a wonder we didn't go deaf!  And just
+look at her!  I don't see how you can stand it
+to have her going around like that and people
+knowing it's your child!  Why, she hasn't got
+enough ON!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter laughed.  ``Oh, for this very hot
+weather, I really don't think people notice or
+care much about--''
+
+`` `Notice'!'' he wailed.  ``I guess Miss PRATT
+noticed!  Hot weather's no excuse for--for outright
+obesity!''  (As Jane was thin, it is probable
+that William had mistaken the meaning of this
+word.)  ``Why, half o' what she HAS got on has
+come unfastened--especially that frightful thing
+hanging around her leg--and look at her back,
+I just beg you!  I ask you to look at her back. 
+You can see her spinal cord!''
+
+``Column,'' Mrs. Baxter corrected.  ``Spinal
+column, Willie.''
+
+``What do _I_ care which it is?'' he fumed. 
+``People aren't supposed to go around with it
+EXPOSED, whichever it is!  And with apple sauce
+on their ears!''
+
+``There is not!'' Jane protested, and at the
+moment when she spoke she was right.  Naturally,
+however, she lifted her hands to the accused ears,
+and the unfortunate result was to justify William's
+statement.
+
+``LOOK!'' he cried.  ``I just ask you to look! 
+Think of it: that's the sight I have to meet when
+I'm out walking with Miss PRATT!  She asked me
+who it was, and I wish you'd seen her face.  She
+wanted to know who `that curious child' was,
+and I'm glad you didn't hear the way she said it. 
+`Who IS that curious child?' she said, and I had
+to tell her it was my sister.  I had to tell Miss
+PRATT it was my only SISTER!''
+
+``Willie, who is Miss Pratt?'' asked Mrs.
+Baxter, mildly.  ``I don't think I've ever heard
+of--''
+
+Jane had returned to an admirable imperturbability,
+but she chose this moment to interrupt
+her mother, and her own eating, with remarks
+delivered in a tone void of emphasis or expression.
+
+``Willie's mashed on her,'' she said, casually. 
+``And she wears false side-curls.  One almost
+came off.''
+
+At this unspeakable desecration William's face
+was that of a high priest stricken at the altar.
+
+``She's visitin' Miss May Parcher,'' added the
+deadly Jane.  ``But the Parchers are awful tired
+of her.  They wish she'd go home, but they don't
+like to tell her so.''
+
+One after another these insults from the canaille
+fell upon the ears of William.  That slanders so
+atrocious could soil the universal air seemed
+unthinkable.
+
+He became icily calm.
+
+``NOW if you don't punish her,'' he said,
+deliberately, ``it's because you have lost your sense
+of duty!''
+
+Having uttered these terrible words, he turned
+upon his heel and marched toward the house. 
+His mother called after him:
+
+``Wait, Willie.  Jane doesn't mean to hurt
+your feelings--''
+
+``My feelings!'' he cried, the iciness of his
+demeanor giving way under the strain of emotion. 
+``You stand there and allow her to speak
+as she did of one of the--one of the--''  For
+a moment William appeared to be at a loss,
+and the fact is that it always has been a difficult
+matter to describe THE bright, ineffable divinity
+of the world to one's mother, especially in the
+presence of an inimical third party of tender
+years.  ``One of the--'' he said; ``one of the--
+the noblest--one of the noblest--''
+
+Again he paused.
+
+``Oh, Jane didn't mean anything,'' said Mrs.
+Baxter.  ``And if you think Miss Pratt is so nice,
+I'll ask May Parcher to bring her to tea with us
+some day.  If it's too hot, we'll have iced tea,
+and you can ask Johnnie Watson, if you like. 
+Don't get so upset about things, Willie!''
+
+`` `Upset'!'' he echoed, appealing to heaven
+against this word.  `` `Upset'!''  And he entered
+the house in a manner most dramatic.
+
+``What made you say that?'' Mrs. Baxter
+asked, turning curiously to Jane when William
+had disappeared.  ``Where did you hear any
+such things?''
+
+``I was there,'' Jane replied, gently eating on
+and on.  William could come and William could
+go, but Jane's alimentary canal went on forever.
+
+``You were where, Jane?''
+
+``At the Parchers'.''
+
+``Oh, I see.''
+
+``Yesterday afternoon,'' said Jane, ``when
+Miss Parcher had the Sunday-school class for
+lemonade and cookies.''
+
+``Did you hear Miss Parcher say--''
+
+``No'm,'' said Jane.  ``I ate too many cookies,
+I guess, maybe.  Anyways, Miss Parcher said
+I better lay down--''
+
+``LIE down, Jane.''
+
+``Yes'm.  On the sofa in the liberry, an' Mrs.
+Parcher an' Mr. Parcher came in there an' sat
+down, after while, an' it was kind of dark, an'
+they didn't hardly notice me, or I guess they
+thought I was asleep, maybe.  Anyways, they
+didn't talk loud, but Mr. Parcher would sort of
+grunt an' ack cross.  He said he just wished he
+knew when he was goin' to have a home again. 
+Then Mrs. Parcher said May HAD to ask her
+Sunday-school class, but he said he never meant
+the Sunday-school class.  He said since Miss
+Pratt came to visit, there wasn't anywhere
+he could go, because Willie Baxter an' Johnnie
+Watson an' Joe Bullitt an' all the other ones
+like that were there all the time, an' it made him
+just sick at the stummick, an' he did wish there
+was some way to find out when she was goin'
+home, because he couldn't stand much more talk
+about love.  He said Willie an' Johnnie Watson
+an' Joe Bullitt an' Miss Pratt were always arguin'
+somep'm about love, an' he said Willie was
+the worst.  Mamma, he said he didn't like the
+rest of it, but he said he guessed he could stand
+it if it wasn't for Willie.  An' he said the reason
+they were all so in love of Miss Pratt was because
+she talks baby-talk, an' he said he couldn't stand
+much more baby-talk.  Mamma, she has the
+loveliest little white dog, an' Mr. Parcher doesn't
+like it.  He said he couldn't go anywhere around
+the place without steppin' on the dog or Willie
+Baxter.  An' he said he couldn't sit on his own
+porch any more; he said he couldn't sit even in
+the liberry but he had to hear baby-talk goin'
+on SOMEwheres an' then either Willie Baxter or
+Joe Bullitt or somebody or another arguin' about
+love.  Mamma, he said''--Jane became
+impressive--``he said, mamma, he said he didn't
+mind the Sunday-school class, but he couldn't
+stand those dam boys!''
+
+``Jane!'' Mrs. Baxter cried, ``you MUSTN'T
+say such things!''
+
+``I didn't, mamma.  Mr. Parcher said it.  He
+said he couldn't stand those da--''
+
+``JANE!  No matter what he said, you mustn't
+repeat--''
+
+``But I'm not.  I only said Mr. PARCHER said he
+couldn't stand those d--''
+
+Mrs. Baxter cut the argument short by
+imprisoning Jane's mouth with a firm hand.  Jane
+continued to swallow quietly until released. 
+Then she said:
+
+``But, mamma, how can I tell you what he
+said unless I say--''
+
+``Hush!'' Mrs. Baxter commanded.  ``You
+must never, never again use such a terrible and
+wicked word.''
+
+``I won't, mamma,'' Jane said, meekly.  Then
+she brightened.  ``Oh, _I_ know!  I'll say `word'
+instead.  Won't that be all right?''
+
+``I--I suppose so.''
+
+``Well, Mr. Parcher said he couldn't stand
+those word boys.  That sounds all right, doesn't
+it, mamma?''
+
+Mrs. Baxter hesitated, but she was inclined to
+hear as complete as possible a report of Mr. and
+Mrs. Parcher's conversation, since it seemed to
+concern William so nearly; and she well knew
+that Jane had her own way of telling things--or
+else they remained untold.
+
+``I--I suppose so,'' Mrs. Baxter said,
+again.
+
+``Well, they kind of talked along,'' Jane
+continued, much pleased;--``an' Mr. Parcher said
+when he was young he wasn't any such a--such a
+word fool as these young word fools were.  He
+said in all his born days Willie Baxter was the
+wordest fool he ever saw!''
+
+Willie Baxter's mother flushed a little.  ``That
+was very unjust and very wrong of Mr. Parcher,''
+she said, primly.
+
+``Oh no, mamma!'' Jane protested.  ``Mrs.
+Parcher thought so, too.''
+
+``Did she, indeed!''
+
+``Only she didn't say word or wordest or anything
+like that,'' Jane explained.  ``She said it
+was because Miss Pratt had coaxed him to be so
+in love of her, an' Mr. Parcher said he didn't care
+whose fault it was, Willie was a--a word calf an'
+so were all the rest of 'em, Mr. Parcher said. 
+An' he said he couldn't stand it any more.  Mr.
+Parcher said that a whole lot of times, mamma. 
+He said he guess' pretty soon he'd haf to be in the
+lunatic asylum if Miss Pratt stayed a few more
+days with her word little dog an' her word
+Willie Baxter an' all the other word calfs. 
+Mrs. Parcher said he oughtn't to say `word,'
+mamma.  She said, `Hush, hush!' to him, mamma. 
+He talked like this, mamma: he said, `I'll
+be word if I stand it!'  An' he kept gettin'
+crosser, an' he said, `Word!  Word!  WORD!
+WOR--' ''
+
+``There!'' Mrs. Baxter interrupted, sharply. 
+``That will do, Jane!  We'll talk about something
+else now, I think.''
+
+Jane looked hurt; she was taking great
+pleasure in this confidential interview, and gladly
+would have continued to quote the harried Mr.
+Parcher at great length.  Still, she was not
+entirely uncontent: she must have had some
+perception that her performance merely as a
+notable bit of reportorial art--did not wholly lack
+style, even if her attire did.  Yet, brilliant as
+Jane's work was, Mrs. Baxter felt no astonishment;
+several times ere this Jane had demonstrated
+a remarkable faculty for the retention
+of details concerning William.  And running
+hand in hand with a really superb curiosity, this
+powerful memory was making Jane an even
+greater factor in William's life than he suspected.
+
+During the glamors of early love, if there be
+a creature more deadly than the little brother of
+a budding woman, that creature is the little sister
+of a budding man.  The little brother at least
+tells in the open all he knows, often at full
+power of his lungs, and even that may be avoided,
+since he is wax in the hands of bribery; but the
+little sister is more apt to save her knowledge for
+use upon a terrible occasion; and, no matter
+what bribes she may accept, she is certain to tell
+her mother everything.  All in all, a young
+lover should arrange, if possible, to be the
+only child of elderly parents; otherwise his
+mother and sister are sure to know a great
+deal more about him than he knows that they
+know.
+
+This was what made Jane's eyes so disturbing
+to William during lunch that day.  She ate
+quietly and competently, but all the while he was
+conscious of her solemn and inscrutable gaze
+fixed upon him; and she spoke not once.  She
+could not have rendered herself more annoying,
+especially as William was trying to treat her
+with silent scorn, for nothing is more irksome to
+the muscles of the face than silent scorn, when
+there is no means of showing it except by the
+expression.  On the other hand, Jane's
+inscrutability gave her no discomfort whatever.  
+In fact, inscrutability is about the most 
+comfortable expression that a person can wear, 
+though the truth is that just now Jane was not 
+really inscrutable at all.
+
+She was merely looking at William and thinking
+of Mr. Parcher.
+
+
+
+IX
+
+LITTLE SISTERS HAVE BIG EARS
+
+The confidential talk between mother and
+daughter at noon was not the last to take
+place that day.  At nightfall--eight o'clock in
+this pleasant season--Jane was saying her
+prayers beside her bed, while her mother stood
+close by, waiting to put out the light.
+
+``An' bless mamma and papa an'--'' Jane
+murmured, coming to a pause.  ``An'--an' bless
+Willie,'' she added, with a little reluctance.
+
+``Go on, dear,'' said her mother.  ``You
+haven't finished.''
+
+``I know it, mamma,'' Jane looked up to say. 
+``I was just thinkin' a minute.  I want to tell
+you about somep'm.''
+
+``Finish your prayers first, Jane.''
+
+Jane obeyed with a swiftness in which there
+was no intentional irreverence.  Then she jumped
+into bed and began a fresh revelation.
+
+``It's about papa's clo'es, mamma.''
+
+``What clothes of papa's?  What do you
+mean, Jane?'' asked Mrs. Baxter, puzzled.
+
+``The ones you couldn't find.  The ones you
+been lookin' for 'most every day.''
+
+``You mean papa's evening clothes?''
+
+``Yes'm,'' said Jane.  ``Willie's got 'em on.''
+
+``What!''
+
+``Yes, he has!'' Jane assured her with emphasis. 
+``I bet you he's had 'em on every single
+evening since Miss Pratt came to visit the
+Parchers!  Anyway, he's got 'em on now, 'cause
+I saw 'em.''
+
+Mrs. Baxter bit her lip and frowned.  ``Are
+you sure, Jane?''
+
+``Yes'm.  I saw him in 'em.''
+
+``How?''
+
+``Well, I was in my bare feet after I got
+undressed--before you came up-stairs--mamma,
+an' I was kind of walkin' around in the hall--''
+
+``You shouldn't do that, Jane.''
+
+``No'm.  An' I heard Willie say somep'm kind
+of to himself, or like deckamation.  He was inside
+his room, but the door wasn't quite shut. 
+He started out once, but he went back for
+somep'm an' forgot to, I guess.  Anyway, I
+thought I better look an' see what was goin' on,
+mamma.  So I just kind of peeked in--''
+
+``But you shouldn't do that, dear,'' Mrs.
+Baxter said, musingly.  ``It isn't really quite
+honorable.''
+
+``No'm.  Well, what you think he was do-
+in'?''  (Here Jane's voice betrayed excitement
+and so did her eyes.)  ``He was standin' up
+there in papa's clo'es before the lookin'-glass, an'
+first he'd lean his head over on one side, an' then
+he'd lean it over on the other side, an' then he'd
+bark, mamma.''
+
+``He'd what?''
+
+`Yes'm!'' said Jane.  ``He'd give a little,
+teeny BARK, mamma--kind of like a puppy,
+mamma.''
+
+``What?'' cried Mrs. Baxter.
+
+``Yes'm, he did!'' Jane asserted.  ``He did it
+four or five times.  First he'd lean his head way
+over on his shoulder like this--look, mamma!--
+an' then he'd lean it way over the other shoulder,
+an' every time he'd do it he'd bark.  `Berp-
+werp!' he'd say, mamma, just like that, only not
+loud at all.  He said, `Berp-werp!  BERP-WERP-
+WERP!'  You could tell he meant it for barkin',
+but it wasn't very good, mamma.  What you
+think he meant, mamma?''
+
+``Heaven knows!'' murmured the astonished
+mother.
+
+``An' then,'' Jane continued, ``he quit barkin'
+all of a sudden, an' didn't lean his head over any
+more, an' commenced actin' kind of solemn, an'
+kind of whispered to himself.  I think he was
+kind of pretendin' he was talkin' to Miss Pratt,
+or at a party, maybe.  Anyways, he spoke out
+loud after while not just exactly LOUD, I mean,
+but anyway so's 't I could hear what he said. 
+Mamma--he said, `Oh, my baby-talk lady!' just
+like that, mamma.  Listen, mamma, here's the
+way he said it:  `Oh, my baby-talk lady!' ''
+
+Jane's voice, in this impersonation, became
+sufficiently soft and tremulous to give Mrs. Baxter
+a fair idea of the tender yearning of the original. 
+`` `OH, MY BABY-TALK LADY!' '' cooed the terrible Jane.
+
+``Mercy!'' Mrs. Baxter exclaimed.  ``Perhaps
+it's no wonder Mr. Parcher--''  She broke off
+abruptly, then inquired, ``What did he do next,
+Jane?''
+
+``Next,'' said Jane, ``he put the light out, an' I
+had to--well, I just waited kind of squeeged up
+against the wall, an' he never saw me.  He went
+on out to the back stairs, an' went down the
+stairs tiptoe, mamma.  You know what I think,
+mamma?  I think he goes out that way an'
+through the kitchen on account of papa's clo'es.''
+
+Mrs. Baxter paused, with her hand upon the
+key of the shaded electric lamp.  ``I suppose so,''
+she said.  ``I think perhaps--''  For a moment
+or two she wrapped herself in thought.  ``Perhaps''--
+she repeated, musingly--``perhaps we'll
+keep this just a secret between you and me for a
+little while, Jane, and not say anything to papa
+about the clothes.  I don't think it will hurt
+them, and I suppose Willie feels they give him a
+great advantage over the other boys--and papa
+uses them so very little, especially since he's
+grown a wee bit stouter.  Yes, it will be our
+secret, Jane.  We'll think it over till to-morrow.''
+
+``Yes'm.''
+
+Mrs. Baxter turned out the light, then came
+and kissed Jane in the dark.  ``Good night,
+dear.''
+
+``G' night, mamma.''  But as Mrs. Baxter
+reached the door Jane's voice was heard again.
+
+``Mamma?''
+
+``Yes?'' Mrs. Baxter paused.
+
+``Mamma,'' Jane said, slowly, ``I think--I
+think Mr. Parcher is a very nice man.  Mamma?''
+
+``Yes, dear?''
+
+``Mamma, what do you s'pose Willie barked at
+the lookin'-glass for?''
+
+``That,'' said Mrs. Baxter, ``is beyond me. 
+Young people and children do the strangest
+things, Jane!  And then, when they get to be
+middle-aged, they forget all those strange things
+they did, and they can't understand what the
+new young people--like you and Willie mean
+by the strange things THEY do.''
+
+``Yes'm.  I bet _I_ know what he was barkin'
+for, mamma.''
+
+``Well?''
+
+``You know what I think?  I think he was
+kind of practisin'.  I think he was practisin' how
+to bark at Mr. Parcher.''
+
+``No, no!'' Mrs. Baxter laughed.  ``Who ever
+could think of such a thing but you, Jane! 
+You go to sleep and forget your nonsense!''
+
+Nevertheless, Jane might almost have been
+gifted with clairvoyance, her preposterous idea
+came so close to the actual fact, for at that very
+moment William was barking.  He was not
+barking directly at Mr. Parcher, it is true, but
+within a short distance of him and all too well
+within his hearing.
+
+
+
+X
+
+MR. PARCHER AND LOVE
+
+Mr. Parcher, that unhappy gentleman,
+having been driven indoors from his own
+porch, had attempted to read Plutarch's Lives in
+the library, but, owing to the adjacency of the
+porch and the summer necessity for open windows,
+his escape spared only his eyes and not his
+suffering ears.  The house was small, being but
+half of a double one, with small rooms, and the
+``parlor,'' library, and dining-room all about
+equally exposed to the porch which ran along the
+side of the house.  Mr. Parcher had no refuge
+except bed or the kitchen, and as he was troubled
+with chronic insomnia, and the cook had callers in
+the kitchen, his case was desperate.  Most
+unfortunately, too, his reading-lamp, the only one in
+the house, was a fixture near a window, and just
+beyond that window sat Miss Pratt and William
+in sweet unconsciousness, while Miss Parcher
+entertained the overflow (consisting of Mr.
+Johnnie Watson) at the other end of the porch. 
+Listening perforce to the conversation of the
+former couple though ``conversation'' is far
+from the expression later used by Mr. Parcher to
+describe what he heard--he found it impossible
+to sit still in his chair.  He jerked and twitched
+with continually increasing restlessness;
+sometimes he gasped, and other times he moaned a
+little, and there were times when he muttered
+huskily.
+
+``Oh, cute-ums!'' came the silvery voice of Miss
+Pratt from the likewise silvery porch outside,
+underneath the summer moon.  ``Darlin' Flopit,
+look!  Ickle boy Baxter goin' make imitations of
+darlin' Flopit again.  See!  Ickle boy Baxter
+puts head one side, then other side, just like
+darlin' Flopit.  Then barks just like darlin' Flopit! 
+Ladies and 'entlemen, imitations of darlin' Flopit
+by ickle boy Baxter.''
+
+``Berp-werp!  Berp-werp!'' came the voice of
+William Sylvanus Baxter.
+
+And in the library Plutarch's Lives moved
+convulsively, while with writhing lips Mr. Parcher
+muttered to himself.
+
+``More, more!'' cried Miss Pratt, clapping her
+hands.  ``Do it again, ickle boy Baxter!''
+
+``Berp-werp!  Berp-werp-werp!''
+
+``WORD!'' muttered Mr. Parcher.
+
+Miss Pratt's voice became surcharged with
+honeyed wonder.  ``How did he learn such marv'lous,
+MARV'LOUS imitations of darlin' Flopit?  He
+ought to go on the big, big stage and be a really
+actor, oughtn't he, darlin' Flopit?  He could
+make milyums and milyums of dollardies,
+couldn't he, darlin' Flopit?''
+
+William's modest laugh disclaimed any great
+ambition for himself in this line.  ``Oh, I always
+could think up imitations of animals; things like
+that--but I hardly would care to--to adop' the
+stage for a career.  Would--you?''  (There was a
+thrill in his voice when he pronounced the
+ineffably significant word ``you.'')
+
+Miss Pratt became intensely serious.
+
+``It's my DREAM!'' she said.
+
+William, seated upon a stool at her feet, gazed
+up at the amber head, divinely splashed by the
+rain of moonlight.  The fire with which she spoke
+stirred him as few things had ever stirred him. 
+He knew she had just revealed a side of herself
+which she reserved for only the chosen few who
+were capable of understanding her, and he fell into
+a hushed rapture.  It seemed to him that there
+was a sacredness about this moment, and he sought
+vaguely for something to say that would live up
+to it and not be out of keeping.  Then, like an
+inspiration, there came into his head some words
+he had read that day and thought beautiful.  He
+had found them beneath an illustration in a
+magazine, and he spoke them almost instinctively.
+
+``It was wonderful of you to say that to me,''
+he said.  ``I shall never forget it!''
+
+``It's my DREAM!'' Miss Pratt exclaimed, again,
+with the same enthusiasm.  ``It's my DREAM.''
+
+``You would make a glorious actress!'' he said.
+
+At that her mood changed.  She laughed a laugh
+like a sweet little girl's laugh (not Jane's) and,
+setting her rocking-chair in motion, cuddled the
+fuzzy white doglet in her arms.  ``Ickle boy
+Baxter t'yin' flatterbox us, tunnin' Flopit!  No'ty,
+no'ty flatterbox!''
+
+``No, no!'' William insisted, earnestly.  ``I mean
+it.  But--but--''
+
+``But whatcums?''
+
+``What do you think about actors and actresses
+making love to each other on the stage?  Do you
+think they have to really feel it, or do they just
+pretend?''
+
+``Well,'' said Miss Pratt, weightily, ``sometimes
+one way, sometimes the other.''
+
+William's gravity became more and more
+profound.  ``Yes, but how can they pretend like
+that?  Don't you think love is a sacred thing,
+Cousin Lola?''
+
+Fictitious sisterships, brotherships, and cousin- 
+ships are devices to push things along, well known
+to seventeen and even more advanced ages.  On
+the wonderful evening of their first meeting
+William and Miss Pratt had cozily arranged to
+be called, respectively, ``Ickle boy Baxter'' and
+``Cousin Lola.''  (Thus they had broken down
+the tedious formalities of their first twenty
+minutes together.)
+
+``Don't you think love is sacred?'' he repeated
+in the deepest tone of which his vocal cords were
+capable.
+
+``Ess,'' said Miss Pratt.
+
+``_I_ do!'' William was emphatic.  ``I think love
+is the most sacred thing there is.  I don't mean
+SOME kinds of love.  I mean REAL love.  You take
+some people, I don't believe they ever know what
+real love means.  They TALK about it, maybe, but
+they don't understand it.  Love is something
+nobody can understand unless they feel it and
+and if they don't understand it they don't feel
+it.  Don't YOU think so?''
+
+``Ess.''
+
+``Love,'' William continued, his voice lifting
+and thrilling to the great theme--``love is something
+nobody can ever have but one time in their
+lives, and if they don't have it then, why prob'ly
+they never will.  Now, if a man REALLY loves a girl,
+why he'd do anything in the world she wanted
+him to.  Don't YOU think so?''
+
+``Ess, 'deedums!'' said the silvery voice.
+
+``But if he didn't, then he wouldn't,'' said
+William vehemently.  ``But when a man really
+loves a girl he will.  Now, you take a man like
+that and he can generally do just about anything
+the girl he loves wants him to.  Say, f'rinstance,
+she wants him to love her even more than he does
+already--or almost anything like that--and supposin'
+she asks him to.  Well, he would go ahead
+and do it.  If they really loved each other he
+would!''
+
+He paused a moment, then in a lowered tone
+he said, ``I think REAL love is sacred, don't you?''
+
+``Ess.''
+
+``Don't you think love is the most sacred thing
+there is--that is, if it's REAL love?''
+
+``Ess.''
+
+``_I_ do,'' said William, warmly.  ``I--I'm glad
+you feel like that, because I think real love is the
+kind nobody could have but just once in their
+lives, but if it isn't REAL love, why--why most
+people never have it at all, because--''  He
+paused, seeming to seek for the exact phrase
+which would express his meaning.  ``--Because
+the REAL love a man feels for a girl and a girl for a
+man, if they REALLY love each other, and, you look
+at a case like that, of course they would BOTH love
+each other, or it wouldn't be real love well, what
+_I_ say is, if it's REAL love, well, it's--it's sacred,
+because I think that kind of love is always sacred. 
+Don't you think love is sacred if it's the real thing?''
+
+``Ess,'' said Miss Pratt.  ``Do Flopit again. 
+Be Flopit!''
+
+``Berp-werp!  Berp-werp-werp.''
+
+And within the library an agonized man
+writhed and muttered:
+
+``WORD!  WORD!  WORD--''
+
+This hoarse repetition had become almost
+continuous.
+
+. . . But out on the porch, that little, jasmine-
+scented bower in Arcady where youth cried to
+youth and golden heads were haloed in the moonshine,
+there fell a silence.  Not utter silence, for
+out there an ethereal music sounded constantly,
+unheard and forgotten by older ears.  Time was
+when the sly playwrights used ``incidental music''
+in their dramas; they knew that an audience
+would be moved so long as the music played;
+credulous while that crafty enchantment lasted. 
+And when the galled Mr. Parcher wondered how
+those young people out on the porch could listen
+to each other and not die, it was because he did
+not hear and had forgotten the music that throbs
+in the veins of youth.  Nevertheless, it may not
+be denied that despite his poor memory this man
+of fifty was deserving of a little sympathy.
+
+It was William who broke the silence.  ``How--''
+he began, and his voice trembled a little.  ``How
+--how do you--how do you think of me when I'm
+not with you?''
+
+``Think nice-cums,'' Miss Pratt responded. 
+``Flopit an' me think nice-cums.''
+
+``No,'' said William; ``I mean what name do
+you have for me when you're when you're
+thinking about me?''
+
+Miss Pratt seemed to be puzzled, perhaps
+justifiably, and she made a cooing sound of
+interrogation.
+
+``I mean like this,'' William explained.  
+``F'rinstance, when you first came, I always 
+thought of you as `Milady'--when I wrote that 
+poem, you know.''
+
+``Ess.  Boo'fums.''
+
+``But now I don't,'' he said.  ``Now I think
+of you by another name when I'm alone.  It--it
+just sort of came to me.  I was kind of just
+sitting around this afternoon, and I didn't know
+I was thinking about anything at all very much,
+and then all of a sudden I said it to myself out
+loud.  It was about as strange a thing as I ever
+knew of.  Don't YOU think so?''
+
+``Ess.  It uz dest WEIRD!'' she answered. 
+``What ARE dat pitty names?''
+
+``I called you,'' said William, huskily and
+reverently, ``I called you `My Baby-Talk Lady.' ''
+
+BANG!
+
+They were startled by a crash from within the
+library; a heavy weight seemed to have fallen
+(or to have been hurled) a considerable distance. 
+Stepping to the window, William beheld a large
+volume lying in a distorted attitude at the foot
+of the wall opposite to that in which the reading-
+lamp was a fixture.  But of all human life the
+room was empty; for Mr. Parcher had given up,
+and was now hastening to his bed in the last faint
+hope of saving his reason.
+
+His symptoms, however, all pointed to its
+having fled; and his wife, looking up from some
+computations in laundry charges, had but a
+vision of windmill gestures as he passed the door
+of her room.  Then, not only for her, but for the
+inoffensive people who lived in the other half of
+the house, the closing of his own door took place
+in a really memorable manner.
+
+William, gazing upon the fallen Plutarch, had
+just offered the explanation, ``Somebody must 'a'
+thrown it at a bug or something, I guess,'' when
+the second explosion sent its reverberations
+through the house.
+
+``My doodness!'' Miss Pratt exclaimed, jumping up.
+
+William laughed reassuringly, remaining calm. 
+``It's only a door blew shut up-stairs,'' he said
+``Let's sit down again--just the way we were?''
+
+Unfortunately for him, Mr. Joe Bullitt now
+made his appearance at the other end of the
+porch.  Mr. Bullitt, though almost a year younger
+than either William or Johnnie Watson, was of a
+turbulent and masterful disposition.  Moreover,
+in regard to Miss Pratt, his affections were in as
+ardent a state as those of his rivals, and he lacked
+Johnnie's meekness.  He firmly declined to be
+shunted by Miss Parcher, who was trying to favor
+William's cause, according to a promise he had
+won of her by strong pleading.  Regardless of her
+efforts, Mr. Bullitt descended upon William and
+his Baby-Talk-Lady, and received from the latter
+a honeyed greeting, somewhat to the former's
+astonishment and not at all to his pleasure.
+
+``Oh, goody-cute!'' cried Miss Pratt.  ``Here's
+big Bruvva Josie-Joe!'' And she lifted her little
+dog close to Mr. Bullitt's face, guiding one of
+Flopit's paws with her fingers.  ``Stroke big
+Bruvva Josie-Joe's pint teeks, darlin' Flopit.'' 
+(Josie-Joe's pink cheeks were indicated by the
+expression ``pint teeks,'' evidently, for her
+accompanying action was to pass Flopit's paw lightly
+over those glowing surfaces.)  `` 'At's nice!'' she
+remarked.  ``Stroke him gently, p'eshus Flopit,
+an' nen we'll coax him to make pitty singin' for
+us, like us did yestiday.''
+
+She turned to William.
+
+``COAX him to make pitty singin'?  I LOVE his
+voice--I'm dest CRAZY over it.  Isn't oo?''
+
+William's passion for Mr. Bullitt's voice
+appeared to be under control.  He laughed coldly,
+almost harshly.  ``Him sing?'' he said.  ``Has he
+been tryin' to sing around HERE?  I wonder the
+family didn't call for the police!''
+
+It was to be seen that Mr. Bullitt did not relish
+the sally.  ``Well, they will,'' he retorted, ``if you
+ever spring one o' your solos on 'em!''  And
+turning to Miss Pratt, he laughed loudly and
+bitterly.  ``You ought to hear Silly Bill sing--
+some time when you don't mind goin' to bed sick
+for a couple o' days!''
+
+Symptoms of truculence at once became alarmingly
+pronounced on both sides.  William was
+naturally incensed, and as for Mr. Bullitt, he
+had endured a great deal from William every
+evening since Miss Pratt's arrival.  William's
+evening clothes were hard enough for both Mr.
+Watson and Mr. Bullitt to bear, without any
+additional insolence on the part of the wearer. 
+Big Bruvva Josie-Joe took a step toward his
+enemy and breathed audibly.
+
+``Let's ALL sing,'' the tactful Miss Pratt proposed,
+hastily.  ``Come on, May and Cousin Johnnie-
+Jump-Up,'' she called to Miss Parcher and Mr.
+Watson.  ``Singin'-school, dirls an' boys! Singin'-
+school!  Ding, ding!  Singin'-school bell's a-wingin'!''
+
+The diversion was successful.  Miss Parcher
+and Mr. Watson joined the other group with alacrity,
+and the five young people were presently
+seated close together upon the steps of the porch,
+sending their voices out upon the air and up to
+Mr. Parcher's window in the song they found
+loveliest that summer.
+
+Miss Pratt carried the air.  William also carried
+it part of the time and hunted for it the rest of
+the time, though never in silence.  Miss Parcher
+``sang alto,'' Mr. Bullitt ``sang bass,'' and Mr.
+Watson ``sang tenor''--that is, he sang as high
+as possible, often making the top sound of a chord
+and always repeating the last phrase of each line
+before the others finished it.  The melody was a
+little too sweet, possibly; while the singers
+thought so highly of the words that Mr. Parcher
+missed not one, especially as the vocal rivalry
+between Josie-Joe and Ickle Boy Baxter incited
+each of them to prevent Miss Pratt from hearing
+the other.
+
+William sang loudest of all; Mr. Parcher had
+at no time any difficulty in recognizing his voice.
+
+     ``Oh, I love my love in the morning
+          And I love my love at night,
+     I love my love in the dawning,
+          And when the stars are bright.
+     Some may love the sunshine,
+          Others may love the dew.
+     Some may love the raindrops,
+          But I love only you-OO-oo!
+               By the stars up above
+               It is you I luh-HUV!
+          Yes, _I_ love own-LAY you!''
+
+
+They sang it four times; then Mr. Bullitt
+sang his solo, ``Tell her, O Golden Moon, how I
+Adore her,'' William following with ``The violate
+loves the cowslip, but _I_ love YEW,'' and after that
+they all sang, ``Oh, I love my love in the morning,''
+again.
+
+All this while that they sang of love, Mr.
+Parcher was moving to and fro upon his bed, not
+more than eighteen feet in an oblique upward-
+slanting line from the heads of the serenaders. 
+Long, long he tossed, listening to the young
+voices singing of love; long, long he thought of
+love, and many, many times he spoke of it aloud,
+though he was alone in the room.  And in thus
+speaking of it, he would give utterance to phrases
+and words probably never before used in
+connection with love since the world began.
+
+His thoughts, and, at intervals, his mutterings,
+continued to be active far into the night, long
+after the callers had gone, and though his household
+and the neighborhood were at rest, with
+never a katydid outside to rail at the waning
+moon.  And by a coincidence not more singular
+than most coincidences, it happened that at just
+about the time he finally fell asleep, a young lady
+at no great distance from him awoke to find her
+self thinking of him.
+
+
+
+XI
+
+BEGINNING A TRUE FRIENDSHIP
+
+This was Miss Jane Baxter.  She opened her
+eyes upon the new-born day, and her first
+thoughts were of Mr. Parcher.  That is, he was
+already in her mind when she awoke, a circumstance
+to be accounted for on the ground that his
+conversation, during her quiet convalescence in
+his library, had so fascinated her that in all
+likelihood she had been dreaming of him.  Then, too,
+Jane and Mr. Parcher had a bond in common,
+though Mr. Parcher did not know it.  Not without
+result had William repeated Miss Pratt's
+inquiry in Jane's hearing:  ``Who IS that curious
+child?''  Jane had preserved her sang-froid, but
+the words remained with her, for she was one of
+those who ponder and retain in silence.
+
+She thought almost exclusively of Mr. Parcher
+until breakfast-time, and resumed her thinking
+of him at intervals during the morning.  Then,
+in the afternoon, a series of quiet events not
+unconnected with William's passion caused her to
+think of Mr. Parcher more poignantly than ever;
+nor was her mind diverted to a different channel
+by another confidential conversation with her
+mother.  Who can say, then, that it was not by
+design that she came face to face with Mr.
+Parcher on the public highway at about five
+o'clock that afternoon?  Everything urges the
+belief that she deliberately set herself in his path.
+
+Mr. Parcher was walking home from his office,
+and he walked slowly, gulping from time to time,
+as he thought of the inevitable evening before
+him.  His was not a rugged constitution, and for
+the last fortnight or so he had feared that it was
+giving way altogether.  Each evening he felt
+that he was growing weaker, and sometimes he
+thought piteously that he might go away for a
+while.  He did not much care where, though what
+appealed to him most, curiously enough, was not
+the thought of the country, with the flowers and
+little birds; no, what allured him was the idea
+that perhaps he could find lodgment for a time
+in an Old People's Home, where the minimum
+age for inmates was about eighty.
+
+Walking more and more slowly, as he
+approached the dwelling he had once thought of as
+home, he became aware of a little girl in a
+checkered dress approaching him at a gait varied by
+the indifferent behavior of a barrel-hoop which
+she was disciplining with a stick held in her right
+hand.  When the hoop behaved well, she came
+ahead rapidly; when it affected to be intoxicated,
+which was most often its whim, she zigzagged
+with it, and gained little ground.  But all the
+while, and without reference to what went on
+concerning the hoop, she slowly and continuously
+fed herself (with her left hand) small, solemnly
+relished bites of a slice of bread-and-butter covered
+with apple sauce and powdered sugar.
+
+Mr. Parcher looked upon her, and he shivered
+slightly; for he knew her to be Willie Baxter's
+sister.
+
+Unaware of the emotion she produced in him,
+Jane checked her hoop and halted.
+
+``G'd afternoon, Mister Parcher,'' she said,
+gravely.
+
+``Good afternoon,'' he returned, without much
+spirit.
+
+Jane looked up at him trustfully and with a
+strange, unconscious fondness.  ``You goin' home
+now, Mr. Parcher?'' she asked, turning to walk
+at his side.  She had suspended the hoop over
+her left arm and transferred the bread-and-butter
+and apple sauce and sugar to her right, so that
+she could eat even more conveniently than
+before.
+
+``I suppose so,'' he murmured.
+
+``My brother Willie's been at your house all
+afternoon,'' she remarked.
+
+He repeated, ``I suppose so,'' but in a tone
+which combined the vocal tokens of misery and
+of hopeless animosity.
+
+``He just went home,'' said Jane.  ``I was 'cross
+the street from your house, but I guess he didn't
+see me.  He kept lookin' back at your house. 
+Miss Pratt was on the porch.''
+
+``I suppose so.''  This time it was a moan.
+
+Jane proceeded to give him some information. 
+``My brother Willie isn't comin' back to your
+house to-night, but he doesn't know it yet.''
+
+``What!'' exclaimed Mr. Parcher.
+
+``Willie isn't goin' to spend any more evenings
+at your house at all,'' said Jane, thoughtfully. 
+``He isn't, but he doesn't know it yet.''
+
+Mr. Parcher gazed fixedly at the wonderful
+child, and something like a ray of sunshine
+flickered over his seamed and harried face.  ``Are
+you SURE he isn't?'' he said.  ``What makes you
+think so?''
+
+``I know he isn't,'' said demure Jane.  ``It's
+on account of somep'm I told mamma.''
+
+And upon this a gentle glow began to radiate
+throughout Mr. Parcher.  A new feeling budded
+within his bosom; he was warmly attracted to
+Jane.  She was evidently a child to be cherished,
+and particularly to be encouraged in the line of
+conduct she seemed to have adopted.  He wished
+the Bullitt and Watson families each had a little
+girl like this.  Still, if what she said of William
+proved true, much had been gained and life might
+be tolerable, after all.
+
+``He'll come in the afternoons, I guess,'' said
+Jane.  ``But you aren't home then, Mr. Parcher,
+except late like you were that day of the Sunday-
+school class.  It was on account of what you
+said that day.  I told mamma.''
+
+``Told your mamma what?''
+
+``What you said.''
+
+Mr. Parcher's perplexity continued.  ``What
+about?''
+
+``About Willie.  YOU know!'' Jane smiled fraternally.
+
+``No, I don't.''
+
+``It was when I was layin' in the liberry, that
+day of the Sunday-school class,'' Jane told him. 
+``You an' Mrs. Parcher was talkin' in there about
+Miss Pratt an' Willie an' everything.''
+
+``Good heavens!'' Mr. Parcher, summoning his
+memory, had placed the occasion and Jane
+together.  ``Did you HEAR all that?''
+
+``Yes.''  Jane nodded.  ``I told mamma all
+what you said.''
+
+``Murder!''
+
+``Well,'' said Jane, ``I guess it's good I did,
+because look--that's the very reason mamma did
+somep'm so's he can't come any more except in
+daytime.  I guess she thought Willie oughtn't
+to behave so's't you said so many things about
+him like that; so to-day she did somep'm, an' now
+he can't come any more to behave that loving
+way of Miss Pratt that you said you would be in
+the lunatic asylum if he didn't quit.  But he
+hasn't found it out yet.''
+
+``Found what out, please?'' asked Mr. Parcher,
+feeling more affection for Jane every moment.
+
+``He hasn't found out he can't come back to
+your house to-night; an' he can't come back to-
+morrow night, nor day-after-to-morrow night,
+nor--''
+
+``Is it because your mamma is going to tell
+him he can't?''
+
+``No, Mr. Parcher.  Mamma says he's too old
+--an' she said she didn't like to, anyway.  She
+just DID somep'm.''
+
+``What?  What did she do?''
+
+``It's a secret,'' said Jane.  ``I could tell you
+the first part of it--up to where the secret
+begins, I expect.''
+
+``Do!'' Mr. Parcher urged.
+
+``Well, it's about somep'm Willie's been
+WEARIN','' Jane began, moving closer to him as
+they slowly walked onward.  ``I can't tell you
+what they were, because that's the secret--but
+he had 'em on him every evening when he came
+to see Miss Pratt, but they belong to papa, an'
+papa doesn't know a word about it.  Well, one
+evening papa wanted to put 'em on, because he
+had a right to, Mr. Parcher, an' Willie didn't
+have any right to at all, but mamma couldn't
+find 'em; an' she rummidged an' rummidged
+'most all next day an' pretty near every day since
+then an' never did find 'em, until don't you
+believe I saw Willie inside of 'em only last night! 
+He was startin' over to your house to see Miss
+Pratt in 'em!  So I told mamma, an' she said it 'd
+haf to be a secret, so that's why I can't tell you
+what they were.  Well, an' then this afternoon,
+early, I was with her, an' she said, long as I had
+told her the secret in the first place, I could come
+in Willie's room with her, an' we both were
+already in there anyway, 'cause I was kind of
+thinkin' maybe she'd go in there to look for 'em,
+Mr. Parcher--''
+
+``I see,'' he said, admiringly.  ``I see.''
+
+``Well, they were under Willie's window-seat,
+all folded up; an' mamma said she wondered
+what she better do, an' she was worried because
+she didn't like to have Willie behave so's you an'
+Mrs. Parcher thought that way about him.  So
+she said the--the secret--what Willie wears,
+you know, but they're really papa's an' aren't
+Willie's any more'n they're MINE--well, she said
+the secret was gettin' a little teeny bit too tight
+for papa, but she guessed they--I mean the
+secret--she said she guessed it was already pretty
+loose for Willie; so she wrapped it up, an' I went
+with her, an' we took 'em to a tailor, an' she told
+him to make 'em bigger, for a surprise for papa,
+'cause then they'll fit him again, Mr. Parcher. 
+She said he must make 'em a whole lot bigger. 
+She said he must let 'em way, WAY out!  So I
+guess Willie would look too funny in 'em after
+they're fixed; an' anyway, Mr. Parcher, the secret
+won't be home from the tailor's for two weeks,
+an' maybe by that time Miss Pratt'll be gone.''
+
+They had reached Mr. Parcher's gate; he
+halted and looked down fondly upon this child
+who seemed to have read his soul.  ``Do you
+honestly think so?'' he asked.
+
+``Well, anyway, Mr. Parcher,'' said Jane,
+``mamma said--well, she said she's sure Willie
+wouldn't come here in the evening any more
+when YOU're at home, Mr. Parcher--'cause after
+he'd been wearin' the secret every night this way
+he wouldn't like to come and not have the secret
+on.  Mamma said the reason he would feel like
+that was because he was seventeen years old.  An'
+she isn't goin' to tell him anything about it,
+Mr. Parcher.  She said that's the best way.''
+
+Her new friend nodded and seemed to agree. 
+``I suppose that's what you meant when you said
+he wasn't coming back but didn't know it yet?''
+
+``Yes, Mr. Parcher.''
+
+He rested an elbow upon the gate-post, gazing
+down with ever-increasing esteem.  ``Of course
+I know your last name,'' he said, ``but I'm afraid
+I've forgotten your other one.''
+
+``It's Jane.''
+
+``Jane,'' said Mr. Parcher, ``I should like to do
+something for you.''
+
+Jane looked down, and with eyes modestly
+lowered she swallowed the last fragment of the
+bread-and-butter and apple sauce and sugar
+which had been the constantly evanescent
+companion of their little walk together.  She was
+not mercenary; she had sought no reward.
+
+``Well, I guess I must run home,'' she said. 
+And with one lift of her eyes to his and a shy
+laugh--laughter being a rare thing for Jane--
+she scampered quickly to the corner and was
+gone.
+
+But though she cared for no reward, the
+extraordinary restlessness of William, that evening,
+after dinner, must at least have been of
+great interest to her.  He ascended to his own
+room directly from the table, but about twenty
+minutes later came down to the library, where
+Jane was sitting (her privilege until half after
+seven) with her father and mother.  William
+looked from one to the other of his parents and
+seemed about to speak, but did not do so.  Instead,
+he departed for the upper floor again and
+presently could be heard moving about energetically
+in various parts of the house, a remote
+thump finally indicating that he was doing something
+with a trunk in the attic.
+
+After that he came down to the library again
+and once more seemed about to speak, but did
+not.  Then he went up-stairs again, and came
+down again, and he was still repeating this process
+when Jane's time-limit was reached and she
+repaired conscientiously to her little bed.  Her
+mother came to hear her prayers and to turn out
+the light; and--when Mrs. Baxter had passed out
+into the hall, after that, Jane heard her speaking
+to William, who was now conducting what seemed
+to be excavations on a serious scale in his own
+room.
+
+``Oh, Willie, perhaps I didn't tell you, but--
+you remember I'd been missing papa's evening
+clothes and looking everywhere for days and
+days?''
+
+``Ye--es,'' huskily from William.
+
+``Well, I found them!  And where do you
+suppose I'd put them?  I found them under
+your window-seat.  Can you think of anything
+more absurd than putting them there and then
+forgetting it?  I took them to the tailor's to
+have them let out.  They were getting too tight
+for papa, but they'll be all right for him when the
+tailor sends them back.''
+
+What the stricken William gathered from this
+it is impossible to state with accuracy; probably
+he mixed some perplexity with his emotions. 
+Certainly he was perplexed the following evening
+at dinner.
+
+Jane did not appear at the table.  ``Poor
+child! she's sick in bed,'' Mrs. Baxter explained
+to her husband.  ``I was out, this afternoon, and
+she ate nearly ALL of a five-pound box of candy.''
+
+Both the sad-eyed William and his father
+were dumfounded.  ``Where on earth did she
+get a five-pound box of candy?'' Mr. Baxter
+demanded.
+
+``I'm afraid Jane has begun her first affair,''
+said Mrs. Baxter.  ``A gentleman sent it to her.''
+
+``What gentleman?'' gasped William.
+
+And in his mother's eyes, as they slowly came
+to rest on his in reply, he was aware of an
+inscrutability strongly remindful of that inscrutable
+look of Jane's.
+
+``Mr. Parcher,'' she said, gently.
+
+
+
+XII
+
+PROGRESS OF THE SYMPTOMS
+
+Mrs. BAXTER'S little stroke of diplomacy
+had gone straight to the mark,
+she was a woman of insight.  For every reason
+she was well content to have her son spend his
+evenings at home, though it cannot be claimed
+that his presence enlivened the household, his
+condition being one of strange, trancelike
+irascibility.  Evening after evening passed, while he
+sat dreaming painfully of Mr. Parcher's porch;
+but in the daytime, though William did not
+literally make hay while the sun shone, he at
+least gathered a harvest somewhat resembling
+hay in general character.
+
+Thus:
+
+One afternoon, having locked his door to
+secure himself against intrusion on the part of
+his mother or Jane, William seated himself
+at his writing-table, and from a drawer therein
+took a small cardboard box, which he uncovered,
+placing the contents in view before him upon
+the table.  (How meager, how chilling a word is
+``contents''!)  In the box were:
+
+A faded rose.
+
+Several other faded roses, disintegrated into
+leaves.
+
+Three withered ``four-leaf clovers.''
+
+A white ribbon still faintly smelling of violets.
+
+A small silver shoe-buckle.
+
+A large pearl button.
+
+A small pearl button.
+
+A tortoise-shell hair-pin.
+
+A cross-section from the heel of a small slipper.
+
+A stringy remnant, probably once an improvised
+wreath of daisies.
+
+Four or five withered dandelions.
+
+Other dried vegetation, of a nature now
+indistinguishable.
+
+William gazed reverently upon this junk of
+precious souvenirs; then from the inner pocket
+of his coat he brought forth, warm and crumpled,
+a lumpish cluster of red geranium blossoms, still
+aromatic and not quite dead, though naturally,
+after three hours of such intimate confinement,
+they wore an unmistakable look of suffering. 
+With a tenderness which his family had never
+observed in him since that piteous day in his
+fifth year when he tried to mend his broken doll,
+William laid the geranium blossoms in the cardboard
+box among the botanical and other relics.
+
+His gentle eyes showed what the treasures
+meant to him, and yet it was strange that they
+should have meant so much, because the source
+of supply was not more than a quarter of a mile
+distant, and practically inexhaustible.  Miss
+Pratt had now been a visitor at the Parchers'
+for something less than five weeks, but she
+had made no mention of prospective departure,
+and there was every reason to suppose that she
+meant to remain all summer.  And as any
+foliage or anything whatever that she touched,
+or that touched her, was thenceforth suitable for
+William's museum, there appeared to be some
+probability that autumn might see it so enlarged
+as to lack that rarity in the component items
+which is the underlying value of most collections.
+
+William's writing-table was beside an open
+window, through which came an insistent whirring,
+unagreeable to his mood; and, looking down
+upon the sunny lawn, he beheld three lowly
+creatures.  One was Genesis; he was cutting
+the grass.  Another was Clematis; he had
+assumed a transient attitude, curiously triangular,
+in order to scratch his ear, the while his anxious
+eyes never wavered from the third creature.
+
+This was Jane.  In one hand she held a little
+stack of sugar-sprinkled wafers, which she slowly
+but steadily depleted, unconscious of the
+increasingly earnest protest, at last nearing agony,
+in the eyes of Clematis.  Wearing unaccustomed
+garments of fashion and festivity, Jane stood, in
+speckless, starchy white and a blue sash, watching
+the lawn-mower spout showers of grass as the
+powerful Genesis easily propelled it along over
+lapping lanes, back and forth, across the yard.
+
+From a height of illimitable loftiness the owner
+of the cardboard treasury looked down upon the
+squat commonplaceness of those three lives. 
+The condition of Jane and Genesis and Clematis
+seemed almost laughably pitiable to him, the
+more so because they were unaware of it.  They
+breathed not the starry air that William breathed,
+but what did it matter to them?  The wretched
+things did not even know that they meant
+nothing to Miss Pratt!
+
+Clematis found his ear too pliable for any great
+solace from his foot, but he was not disappointed;
+he had expected little, and his thoughts were
+elsewhere.  Rising, he permitted his nose to follow
+his troubled eyes, with the result that it touched
+the rim of the last wafer in Jane's external
+possession.
+
+This incident annoyed William.  ``Look there!''
+he called from the window.  ``You mean to eat
+that cake after the dog's had his face on it?''
+
+Jane remained placid.  ``It wasn't his face.''
+
+``Well, if it wasn't his face, I'd like to know
+what--''
+
+``It wasn't his face,'' Jane repeated.  ``It was
+his nose.  It wasn't all of his nose touched it,
+either.  It was only a little outside piece of his
+nose.''
+
+``Well, are you going to eat that cake, I ask
+you?''
+
+Jane broke off a small bit of the wafer.  She
+gave the bit to Clematis and slowly ate what
+remained, continuing to watch Genesis and
+apparently unconscious of the scorching gaze from
+the window.
+
+``I never saw anything as disgusting as long
+as I've lived!'' William announced.  ``I wouldn't
+'a' believed it if anybody'd told me a sister of
+mine would eat after--''
+
+``I didn't,'' said Jane.  ``I like Clematis, anyway.''
+
+``Ye gods!'' her brother cried.  ``Do you think
+that makes it any better?  And, BY the WAY,'' he
+continued, in a tone of even greater severity, ``I'd
+a like to know where you got those cakes.  Where'd
+you get 'em, I'd just like to inquire?''
+
+``In the pantry.''  Jane turned and moved
+toward the house.  ``I'm goin' in for some more,
+now.''
+
+William uttered a cry; these little cakes were
+sacred.  His mother, growing curious to meet a
+visiting lady of whom (so to speak) she had
+heard much and thought more, had asked May
+Parcher to bring her guest for iced tea, that
+afternoon.  A few others of congenial age had been
+invited: there was to be a small matinee, in fact,
+for the honor and pleasure of the son of the house,
+and the cakes of Jane's onslaught were part of
+Mrs. Baxter's preparations.  There was no telling
+where Jane would stop; it was conceivable that
+Miss Pratt herself might go waferless.
+
+William returned the cardboard box to its
+drawer with reverent haste; then, increasing the
+haste, but dropping the reverence, he hied himself
+to the pantry with such advantage of longer
+legs that within the minute he and the wafers
+appeared in conjunction before his mother, who
+was arranging fruit and flowers upon a table in
+the ``living-room.''
+
+William entered in the stained-glass attitude
+of one bearing gifts.  Overhead, both hands
+supported a tin pan, well laden with small cakes and
+wafers, for which Jane was silently but repeatedly
+and systematically jumping.  Even under the
+stress of these efforts her expression was cool and
+collected; she maintained the self-possession that
+was characteristic of her.
+
+Not so with William; his cheeks were flushed,
+his eyes indignant.  ``You see what this child is
+doing?'' he demanded.  ``Are you going to let her
+ruin everything?''
+
+``Ruin?'' Mrs. Baxter repeated, absently, 
+refreshing with fair water a bowl of flowers upon
+the table.  ``Ruin?''
+
+``Yes, ruin!'' William was hotly emphatic,
+``If you don't do something with her it 'll all be
+ruined before Miss Pr--before they even get
+here!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter laughed.  ``Set the pan down,
+Willie.''
+
+``Set it DOWN?'' he echoed, incredulously
+``With that child in the room and grabbing
+like--''
+
+``There!'' Mrs. Baxter took the pan from him,
+placed it upon a chair, and with the utmost coolness
+selected five wafers and gave them to Jane. 
+``I'd already promised her she could have five
+more.  You know the doctor said Jane's digestion
+was the finest he'd ever misunderstood.  They
+won't hurt her at all, Willie.''
+
+This deliberate misinterpretation of his motives
+made it difficult for William to speak.  ``Do YOU
+think,'' he began, hoarsely, ``do you THINK--''
+
+``They're so small, too,'' Mrs. Baxter went on. 
+``SHE probably wouldn't be sick if she ate them
+all.''
+
+``My heavens!'' he burst forth.  ``Do you think
+I was worrying about--''  He broke off, unable to
+express himself save by a few gestures of despair. 
+Again finding his voice, and a great deal of it, he
+demanded:  ``Do you realize that Miss PRATT will
+be here within less than half an hour?  What do
+you suppose she'd think of the people of this
+town if she was invited out, expecting decent
+treatment, and found two-thirds of the cakes
+eaten up before she got there, and what was left
+of 'em all mauled and pawed over and crummy
+and chewed-up lookin' from some wretched
+CHILD?''  Here William became oratorical, but not
+with marked effect, since Jane regarded him with
+unmoved eyes, while Mrs. Baxter continued to
+be mildly preoccupied in arranging the table. 
+In fact, throughout this episode in controversy
+the ladies' party had not only the numerical but
+the emotional advantage.  Obviously, the
+approach of Miss Pratt was not to them what it
+was to William.  ``I tell you,'' he declaimed;--
+``yes, I tell you that it wouldn't take much
+of this kind of thing to make Miss Pratt think
+the people of this town were--well, it wouldn't
+take much to make her think the people of this
+town hadn't learned much of how to behave in
+society and were pretty uncilivized!''  He
+corrected himself .  ``Uncivilized!  And to think
+Miss Pratt has to find that out in MY house! 
+To think--''
+
+``Now, Willie,'' said Mrs. Baxter, gently,
+``you'd better go up and brush your hair again
+before your friends come.  You mustn't let yourself
+get so excited.''
+
+`` `Excited!' '' he cried, incredulously.  ``Do
+you think I'm EXCITED?  Ye gods!''
+He smote his hands together and, in his despair
+of her intelligence, would have flung himself
+down upon a chair, but was arrested half-way by
+simultaneous loud outcries from his mother and
+Jane.
+
+``Don't sit on the CAKES!'' they both screamed.
+
+Saving himself and the pan of wafers by a
+supreme contortion at the last instant, William
+decided to remain upon his feet.  ``What do I
+care for the cakes?'' he demanded, contemptuously,
+beginning to pace the floor.  ``It's the
+question of principle I'm talking about!  Do you
+think it's right to give the people of this town a
+poor name when strangers like Miss PRATT come
+to vis--''
+
+``Willie!'' His mother looked at him hopelessly. 
+``Do go and brush your hair.  If you
+could see how you've tousled it you would.''
+
+He gave her a dazed glance and strode from
+the room.
+
+Jane looked after him placidly.  ``Didn't he
+talk funny!'' she murmured.
+
+``Yes, dear,'' said Mrs. Baxter.  She shook her
+head and uttered the enigmatic words, ``They
+do.''
+
+``I mean Willie, mamma,'' said Jane.  ``If it's
+anything about Miss Pratt.  he always talks awful
+funny.  Don't you think Willie talks awful funny
+if it's anything about Miss Pratt, mamma?''
+
+``Yes, but--''
+
+``What, mamma?'' Jane asked as her mother
+paused.
+
+``Well--it happens.  People do get like that at
+his age, Jane.''
+
+``Does everybody?''
+
+``No, I suppose not everybody.  Just some.''
+
+Jane's interest was roused.  ``Well, do those
+that do, mamma,'' she inquired, ``do they all act
+like Willie?''
+
+``No,'' said Mrs. Baxter.  ``That's the trouble;
+you can't tell what's coming.''
+
+Jane nodded.  ``I think I know,'' she said. 
+``You mean Willie--''
+
+William himself interrupted her.  He returned
+violently to the doorway, his hair still tousled,
+and, standing upon the threshold, said, sternly:
+
+``What is that child wearing her best dress
+for?''
+
+``Willie!'' Mrs. Baxter cried.  ``Go brush your
+hair!''
+
+``I wish to know what that child is all dressed
+up for?'' he insisted.
+
+``To please you!  Don't you want her to look
+her best at your tea?''
+
+``I thought that was it!'' he cried, and upon
+this confirmation of his worst fears he did 
+increased violence to his rumpled hair.  ``I
+suspected it, but I wouldn't 'a' believed it!  You
+mean to let this child--you mean to let--''  Here
+his agitation affected his throat and his utterance
+became clouded.  A few detached phrases fell
+from him:  ``--Invite MY friends--children's
+party--ye gods!--think Miss Pratt plays dolls--''
+
+``Jane will be very good,'' his mother said.  ``I
+shouldn't think of not having her, Willie, and
+you needn't bother about your friends; they'll be
+very glad to see her.  They all know her, except
+Miss Pratt, perhaps, and--''  Mrs. Baxter
+paused; then she asked, absently:  ``By the way,
+haven't I heard somewhere that she likes
+pretending to be a little girl, herself?''
+
+``WHAT!''
+
+``Yes,'' said Mrs. Baxter, remaining calm;
+``I'm sure I've heard somewhere that she likes
+to talk `baby-talk.' ''
+
+Upon this a tremor passed over William, after
+which he became rigid.  ``You ask a lady to your
+house,'' he began, ``and even before she gets here,
+before you've even seen her, you pass judgment
+upon one of the--one of the noblest--''
+
+``Good gracious!  _I_ haven't `passed judgment.' 
+If she does talk `baby-talk,' I imagine she does it
+very prettily, and I'm sure I've no objection. 
+And if she does do it, why should you be insulted
+by my mentioning it?''
+
+``It was the way you said it,'' he informed her,
+icily.
+
+``Good gracious!  I just said it!'' Mrs. Baxter
+laughed, and then, probably a little out of
+patience with him, she gave way to that innate
+mischievousness in such affairs which is not unknown
+to her sex.  ``You see, Willie, if she pretends to
+be a cunning little girl, it will be helpful to Jane
+to listen and learn how.''
+
+William uttered a cry; he knew that he was
+struck, but he was not sure how or where.  He
+was left with a blank mind and no repartee. 
+Again he dashed from the room.
+
+In the hall, near the open front door, he came
+to a sudden halt, and Mrs. Baxter and Jane heard
+him calling loudly to the industrious Genesis:
+
+``Here!  You go cut the grass in the back yard,
+and for Heaven's sake, take that dog with you!''
+
+``Grass awready cut roun' back,'' responded
+the amiable voice of Genesis, while the lawn-
+mower ceased not to whir.  ``Cut all 'at back yod
+'s mawnin'.''
+
+``Well, you can't cut the front yard now.  Go
+around in the back yard and take that dog with
+you.''
+
+``Nemmine 'bout 'at back yod!  Ole Clem ain'
+trouble nobody.''
+
+``You hear what I tell you?'' William shouted. 
+``You do what I say and you do it quick!''
+
+Genesis laughed gaily.  ``I got my grass to
+cut!''
+
+``You decline to do what I command you?''
+William roared.
+
+``Yes, indeedy!  Who pay me my wages?  'At's
+MY boss.  You' ma say, 'Genesis, you git all 'at
+lawn mowed b'fo' sundown.'  No, suh!  Nee'n'
+was'e you' bref on me, 'cause I'm got all MY time
+good an' took up!''
+
+Once more William presented himself fatefully
+to his mother and Jane.  ``May I just kindly ask
+you to look out in the front yard?''
+
+``I'm familiar with it, Willie,'' Mrs. Baxter
+returned, a little wearily.
+
+``I mean I want you to look at Genesis.''
+
+``I'm familiar with his appearance, too,'' she
+said.  ``Why in the world do you mind his cutting
+the grass?''
+
+William groaned.  ``Do you honestly want
+guests coming to this house to see that awful old
+darky out there and know that HE'S the kind of
+servants we employ?  Ye gods!''
+
+``Why, Genesis is just a neighborhood outdoors
+darky, Willie; he works for half a dozen
+families besides us.  Everybody in this part of
+town knows him.''
+
+``Yes,'' he cried, ``but a lady that didn't live
+here wouldn't.  Ye gods!  What do you suppose
+she WOULD think?  You know what he's got on!''
+
+``It's a sort of sleeveless jersey he wears, Willie,
+I think.''
+
+``No, you DON'T think that!'' he cried, with
+great bitterness.  ``You know it's not a jersey! 
+You know perfectly well what it is, and yet you
+expect to keep him out there when--when one of
+the one of the nobl--when my friends arrive! 
+And they'll think that's our DOG out there, won't
+they?  When intelligent people come to a house
+and see a dog sitting out in front, they think it's
+the family in the house's dog, don't they?'' 
+William's condition becoming more and more
+disordered, he paced the room, while his agony rose
+to a climax.  ``Ye gods!  What do you think Miss
+Pratt will think of the people of this town, when
+she's invited to meet a few of my friends and the
+first thing she sees is a nigger in his undershirt? 
+What 'll she think when she finds that child's
+eaten up half the food, and the people have to
+explain that the dog in the front yard belongs to
+the darky--''  He interrupted himself with a
+groan:  ``And prob'ly she wouldn't believe it. 
+Anybody'd SAY they didn't own a dog like that! 
+And that's what you want her to see, before she
+even gets inside the house!  Instead of a regular
+gardener in livery like we ought to have, and a
+bulldog or a good Airedale or a fox-hound, or
+something, the first things you want intelligent
+people from out of town to see are that awful old
+darky and his mongrel scratchin' fleas and like
+as not lettin' 'em get on other people!  THAT'd be
+nice, wouldn't it?  Go out to tea expecting decent
+treatment and get fl--''
+
+``WILLIE!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter managed to obtain his attention. 
+``If you'll go and brush your hair I'll
+send Genesis and Clematis away for the rest of
+the afternoon.  And then if you 'll sit down
+quietly and try to keep cool until your friends
+get here, I'll--''
+
+`` `Quietly'!'' he echoed, shaking his head over
+this mystery.  ``I'm the only one that IS quiet
+around here.  Things 'd be in a fine condition to
+receive guests if I didn't keep pretty cool, I
+guess!''
+
+``There, there,'' she said, soothingly.  ``Go and
+brush your hair.  And change your collar, Willie;
+it's all wilted.  I'll send Genesis away.''
+
+His wandering eye failed to meet hers with any
+intelligence.  ``Collar,'' he muttered, as if in
+soliloquy.  ``Collar.''
+
+``Change it!'' said Mrs. Baxter, raising her
+voice.  ``It's WILTED.''
+
+He departed in a dazed manner.
+
+Passing through the hall, he paused abruptly,
+his eye having fallen with sudden disapproval
+upon a large, heavily framed, glass-covered
+engraving, ``The Battle of Gettysburg,'' which
+hung upon the wall, near the front door.  Undeniably,
+it was a picture feeble in decorative
+quality; no doubt, too, William was right in
+thinking it as unworthy of Miss Pratt, as were
+Jane and Genesis and Clematis.  He felt that she
+must never see it, especially as the frame had
+been chipped and had a corner broken, but it was
+more pleasantly effective where he found it than
+where (in his nervousness) he left it.  A few
+hasty jerks snapped the elderly green cords by
+which it was suspended; then he laid the picture
+upon the floor and with his handkerchief made a
+curious labyrinth of avenues in the large oblong
+area of fine dust which this removal disclosed
+upon the wall.  Pausing to wipe his hot brow
+with the same implement, he remembered that
+some one had made allusions to his collar and
+hair, whereupon he sprang to the stairs, mounted
+two at a time, rushed into his own room, and
+confronted his streaked image in the mirror.
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+AT HOME TO HIS FRIENDS
+
+After ablutions, he found his wet hair plastic,
+and easily obtained the long, even sweep
+backward from the brow, lacking which no male
+person, unless bald, fulfilled his definition of a
+man of the world.  But there ensued a period of
+vehemence and activity caused by a bent collar-
+button, which went on strike with a desperation
+that was downright savage.  The day was warm
+and William was warmer; moisture bedewed him
+afresh.  Belated victory no sooner arrived than
+he perceived a fatal dimpling of the new collar,
+and was forced to begin the operation of exchanging
+it for a successor.  Another exchange, however,
+he unfortunately forgot to make: the
+handkerchief with which he had wiped the wall
+remained in his pocket.
+
+Voices from below, making polite laughter,
+warned him that already some of the bidden
+party had arrived, and, as he completed the
+fastening of his third consecutive collar, an
+ecstasy of sound reached him through the open
+window--and then, Oh then! his breath behaved
+in an abnormal manner and he began to tremble. 
+It was the voice of Miss Pratt, no less!
+
+He stopped for one heart-struck look from his
+casement.  All in fluffy white and heliotrope she
+was--a blonde rapture floating over the sidewalk
+toward William's front gate.  Her little white
+cottony dog, with a heliotrope ribbon round his
+neck, bobbed his head over her cuddling arm; a
+heliotrope parasol shielded her infinitesimally
+from the amorous sun.  Poor William!
+
+Two youths entirely in William's condition of
+heart accompanied the glamorous girl and hung
+upon her rose-leaf lips, while Miss Parcher
+appeared dimly upon the outskirts of the group,
+the well-known penalty for hostesses who entertain
+such radiance.  Probably it serves them right.
+
+To William's reddening ear Miss Pratt's voice
+came clearly as the chiming of tiny bells, for she
+spoke whimsically to her little dog in that tinkling
+childlike fashion which was part of the spell she
+cast.
+
+``Darlin' Flopit,'' she said, ``wake up!  Oo
+tummin' to tea-potty wiz all de drowed-ups. 
+P'eshus Flopit, wake up!''
+
+Dizzy with enchantment, half suffocated, his
+heart melting within him, William turned from
+the angelic sounds and fairy vision of the
+window.  He ran out of the room, and plunged down
+the front stairs.  And the next moment the crash
+of breaking glass and the loud thump-bump of a
+heavily falling human body resounded through
+the house.
+
+Mrs. Baxter, alarmed, quickly excused herself
+from the tea-table, round which were gathered
+four or five young people, and hastened to the
+front hall, followed by Jane.  Through the open
+door were seen Miss Pratt, Miss Parcher, Mr.
+Johnnie Watson and Mr. Joe Bullitt coming leisurely
+up the sunny front walk, laughing and unaware
+of the catastrophe which had just occurred
+within the shadows of the portal.  And at a little
+distance from the foot of the stairs William was
+seated upon the prostrate ``Battle of Gettysburg.''
+
+``It slid,'' he said, hoarsely.  ``I carried it
+upstairs with me''--he believed this--``and somebody
+brought it down and left it lying flat on
+the floor by the bottom step on purpose to trip
+me!  I stepped on it and it slid.''  He was in a
+state of shock: it seemed important to impress
+upon his mother the fact that the picture had
+not remained firmly in place when he stepped
+upon it.  ``It SLID, I tell you!''
+
+``Get up, Willie!'' she urged, under her breath,
+and as he summoned enough presence of mind to
+obey, she beheld ruins other than the wrecked
+engraving.  She stifled a cry.  ``WILLIE!  Did the
+glass cut you?''
+
+He felt himself.  ``No'm.''
+
+``It did your trousers!  You'll have to change
+them.  Hurry!''
+
+Some of William's normal faculties were
+restored to him by one hasty glance at the back of
+his left leg, which had a dismantled appearance. 
+A long blue strip of cloth hung there, with white
+showing underneath.
+
+``HURRY!'' said Mrs. Baxter.  And hastily gathering
+some fragments of glass, she dropped them
+upon the engraving, pushed it out of the way,
+and went forward to greet Miss Pratt and her
+attendants.
+
+As for William, he did not even pause to close
+his mouth, but fled with it open.  Upward he
+sped, unseen, and came to a breathless halt upon
+the landing at the top of the stairs.
+
+As it were in a dream he heard his mother's
+hospitable greetings at the door, and then the
+little party lingered in the hall, detained by Miss
+Pratt's discovery of Jane.
+
+``Oh, tweetums tootums ickle dirl!'' he heard
+the ravishing voice exclaim.  ``Oh, tootums ickle
+blue sash!''
+
+``It cost a dollar and eighty-nine cents,'' said
+Jane.  ``Willie sat on the cakes.''
+
+``Oh no, he didn't,'' Mrs. Baxter laughed.  ``He
+didn't QUITE!''
+
+``He had to go up-stairs,'' said Jane.  And as
+the stricken listener above smote his forehead,
+she added placidly, ``He tore a hole in his
+clo'es.''
+
+She seemed about to furnish details, her mood
+being communicative, but Mrs. Baxter led the
+way into the ``living-room''; the hall was vacated,
+and only the murmur of voices and laughter
+reached William.  What descriptive information
+Jane may have added was spared his hearing,
+which was a mercy.
+
+And yet it may be that he could not have felt
+worse than he did; for there IS nothing worse than
+to be seventeen and to hear one of the Noblest
+girls in the world told by a little child that you
+sat on the cakes and tore a hole in your clo'es.
+
+William leaned upon the banister railing and
+thought thoughts about Jane.  For several long,
+seething moments he thought of her exclusively. 
+Then, spurred by the loud laughter of rivals and
+the agony of knowing that even in his own
+house they were monopolizing the attention of
+one of the Noblest, he hastened into his own,
+room and took account of his reverses.
+
+Standing with his back to the mirror, he
+obtained over his shoulder a view of his trousers
+which caused him to break out in a fresh
+perspiration.  Again he wiped his forehead with the
+handkerchief, and the result was instantly visible
+in the mirror.
+
+The air thickened with sounds of frenzy, followed
+by a torrential roar and great sputterings
+in a bath-room, which tumult subsiding, William
+returned at a tragic gallop to his room and, having
+removed his trousers, began a feverish examination
+of the garments hanging in a clothes-
+closet.  There were two pairs of flannel trousers
+which would probably again be white and possible,
+when cleaned and pressed, but a glance
+showed that until then they were not to be
+considered as even the last resort of desperation. 
+Beside them hung his ``last year's summer suit''
+of light gray.
+
+Feverishly he brought it forth, threw off his
+coat, and then--deflected by another glance at
+the mirror--began to change his collar again. 
+This was obviously necessary, and to quicken
+the process he decided to straighten the bent
+collar-button.  Using a shoe-horn as a lever, he
+succeeded in bringing the little cap or head of the
+button into its proper plane, but, unfortunately,
+his final effort dislodged the cap from the rod
+between it and the base, and it flew off
+malignantly into space.  Here was a calamity; few
+things are more useless than a decapitated collar-
+button, and William had no other.  He had made
+sure that it was his last before he put it on, that
+day; also he had ascertained that there was none
+in, on, or about his father's dressing-table. 
+Finally, in the possession of neither William nor
+his father was there a shirt with an indigenous
+collar.
+
+For decades, collar-buttons have been on the
+hand-me-down shelves of humor; it is a mistake
+in the catalogue.  They belong to pathos.  They
+have done harm in the world, and there have
+been collar-buttons that failed when the destinies
+of families hung upon them.  There have been
+collar-buttons that thwarted proper matings. 
+There have been collar-buttons that bore last
+hopes, and, falling to the floor, NEVER were found! 
+William's broken collar-button was really the
+only collar-button in the house, except such as
+were engaged in serving his male guests below.
+
+At first he did not realize the extent of his
+misfortune.  How could he?  Fate is always
+expected to deal its great blows in the grand
+manner.  But our expectations are fustian
+spangled with pinchbeck; we look for tragedy
+to be theatrical.  Meanwhile, every day before
+our eyes, fate works on, employing for its
+instruments the infinitesimal, the ignoble and the
+petty--in a word, collar-buttons.
+
+Of course William searched his dressing-
+table and his father's, although he had been
+thoroughly over both once before that day.  Next
+he went through most of his mother's and Jane's
+accessories to the toilette; through trinket-boxes,
+glove-boxes, hairpin-boxes, handkerchief-cases--
+even through sewing-baskets.  Utterly he
+convinced himself that ladies not only use no collar-
+buttons, but also never pick them up and put
+them away among their own belongings.  How
+much time he consumed in this search is difficult
+to reckon;--it is almost impossible to believe
+that there is absolutely no collar-button in a
+house.
+
+And what William's state of mind had become
+is matter for exorbitant conjecture.  Jane,
+arriving at his locked door upon an errand, was
+bidden by a thick, unnatural voice to depart.
+
+``Mamma says, `What in mercy's name is the
+matter?' '' Jane called.  ``She whispered to me,
+`Go an' see what in mercy's name is the matter
+with Willie; an' if the glass cut him, after all; an'
+why don't he come down'; an' why don't you,
+Willie?  We're all havin' the nicest time!''
+
+``You g'way!'' said the strange voice within
+the room.  ``G'way!''
+
+``Well, did the glass cut you?''
+
+``No!  Keep quiet!  G'way!''
+
+``Well, are you EVER comin' down to your
+party?''
+
+``Yes, I am!  G'way!''
+
+Jane obeyed, and William somehow completed
+the task upon which he was engaged.  Genius
+had burst forth from his despair; necessity had
+become a mother again, and William's collar was
+in place.  It was tied there.  Under his necktie
+was a piece of string.
+
+He had lost count of time, but he was frantically
+aware of its passage; agony was in the
+thought of so many rich moments frittered away;
+up-stairs, while Joe Bullitt and Johnnie Watson
+made hay below.  And there was another spur
+to haste in his fear that the behavior of Mrs.
+Baxter might not be all that the guest of honor
+would naturally expect of William's mother. 
+As for Jane, his mind filled with dread; shivers
+passed over him at intervals.
+
+It was a dismal thing to appear at a ``party''
+(and that his own) in ``last summer's suit,'' but
+when he had hastily put it on and faced the
+mirror, he felt a little better--for three or four
+seconds.  Then he turned to see how the back of
+it looked.
+
+And collapsed in a chair, moaning.
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+TIME DOES FLY
+
+He remembered now what he had been too
+hurried to remember earlier.  He had worn
+these clothes on the previous Saturday, and,
+returning from a glorified walk with Miss Pratt,
+he had demonstrated a fact to which his near-
+demolition of the wafers, this afternoon, was
+additional testimony.  This fact, roughly stated,
+is that a person of seventeen, in love, is liable
+to sit down anywhere.  William had dreamily
+seated himself upon a tabouret in the library,
+without noticing that Jane had left her open
+paint-box there.  Jane had just been painting
+sunsets; naturally all the little blocks of color
+were wet, and the effect upon William's pale-
+gray trousers was marvelous--far beyond the
+capacity of his coat to conceal.  Collar-
+buttons and children's paint-boxes--those are the
+trolls that lie in wait!
+
+The gray clothes and the flannel trousers had
+been destined for the professional cleaner, and
+William, rousing himself from a brief stupor,
+made a piteous effort to substitute himself for
+that expert so far as the gray trousers were
+concerned.  He divested himself of them and brought
+water, towels, bath-soap, and a rubber bath-
+sponge to the bright light of his window; and;
+there, with touching courage and persistence,
+he tried to scrub the paint out of the cloth.  He
+obtained cloud studies and marines which would
+have interested a Post-Impressionist, but upon
+trousers they seemed out of place.
+
+There came one seeking and calling him again;
+raps sounded upon the door, which he had not
+forgotten to lock.
+
+``Willie,'' said a serious voice, ``mamma wants
+to know what in mercy's name is the matter! 
+She wants to know if you know for mercy's name
+what time it is!  She wants to know what in
+mercy's name you think they're all goin' to think! 
+She says--''
+
+``G'WAY!''
+
+``Well, she said I had to find out what in
+mercy's name you're doin', Willie.''
+
+``You tell her,'' he shouted, hoarsely--``tell her
+I'm playin' dominoes!  What's she THINK I'm
+doin'?''
+
+``I guess''--Jane paused, evidently to complete
+the swallowing of something--``I guess she
+thinks you're goin' crazy.  I don't like Miss
+Pratt, but she lets me play with that little dog. 
+It's name's Flopit!''
+
+``You go 'way from that door and stop bothering
+me,'' said William.  ``I got enough on my
+mind!''
+
+``Mamma looks at Miss Pratt,'' Jane remarked. 
+``Miss Pratt puts cakes in that Mr. Bullitt's
+mouth and Johnnie Watson's mouth, too.  She's
+awful.''
+
+William made it plain that these bulletins from
+the party found no favor with him.  He bellowed,
+``If you don't get away from that DOOR--''
+
+Jane was interested in the conversation, but
+felt that it would be better to return to the
+refreshment-table.  There she made use of her
+own conception of a whisper to place before
+her mother a report which was considered
+interesting and even curious by every one present;
+though, such was the courtesy of the little
+assembly, there was a general pretense of not
+hearing.
+
+``I told him,'' thus whispered Jane, ``an' he
+said, `You g'way from that door or I'll do
+somep'm'--he didn't say what, mamma.  He
+said, `What you think I'm doin'?  I'm playin'
+dominoes.'  He didn't mean he WAS playin'
+dominoes, mamma.  He just said he was.  I
+think maybe he was just lookin' in the lookin'-
+glass some more.''
+
+Mrs. Baxter was becoming embarrassed.  She
+resolved to go to William's room herself at the
+first opportunity; but for some time her
+conscientiousness as a hostess continued to occupy
+her at the table, and then, when she would have
+gone, Miss Pratt detained her by a roguish appeal
+to make Mr. Bullitt and Mr. Watson behave. 
+Both refused all nourishment except such as was
+placed in their mouths by the delicate hand of
+one of the Noblest, and the latter said that really
+she wanted to eat a little tweetie now and
+then herself, and not to spend her whole time
+feeding the Men.  For Miss Pratt had the
+same playfulness with older people that she had
+with those of her own age; and she elaborated
+her pretended quarrel with the two young gentlemen,
+taking others of the dazzled company into
+her confidence about it, and insisting upon
+``Mamma Batster's'' acting formally as judge
+to settle the difficulty.  However, having thus
+arranged matters, Miss Pratt did not resign the
+center of interest, but herself proposed a
+compromise: she would continue to feed Mr. Bullitt
+and Mr. Watson ``every other tweetie''--that is,
+each must agree to eat a cake ``all by him own
+self,'' after every cake fed to him.  So the
+comedietta went on, to the running accompaniment
+of laughter, with Mr. Bullitt and Mr.
+Watson swept by such gusts of adoration they
+were like to perish where they sat.  But Mrs.
+Baxter's smiling approval was beginning to be
+painful to the muscles of her face, for it was
+hypocritical.  And if William had known her
+thoughts about one of the Noblest, he could only
+have attributed them to that demon of groundless
+prejudice which besets all females, but most
+particularly and outrageously the mothers and
+sisters of Men.
+
+A colored serving-maid entered with a laden
+tray, and, having disposed of its freight of bon-
+bons among the guests, spoke to Mrs. Baxter in
+a low voice.
+
+``Could you manage step in the back hall a
+minute, please, ma'am?''
+
+Mrs. Baxter managed and, having closed the
+door upon the laughing voices, asked, quickly--
+``What is it, Adelia?  Have you seen Mr. William? 
+Do you know why he doesn't come down?''
+
+``Yes'm,'' said Adelia.  ``He gone mighty near
+out his head, Miz Baxter.''
+
+``What!''
+
+``Yes'm.  He come floppin' down the back
+stairs in his baf-robe li'l' while ago.  He jes'
+gone up again.  He 'ain't got no britches, Miz
+Baxter.''
+
+``No WHAT?''
+
+``No'm,'' said Adelia.  ``He 'ain't got no
+britches at all.''
+
+A statement of this kind is startling under
+Almost any circumstances, and it is unusually so
+when made in reference to a person for whom a
+party is being given.  Therefore it was not
+unreasonable of Mrs. Baxter to lose her breath.
+
+``But--it can't BE!'' she gasped.  ``He has! 
+He has plenty!''
+
+``No'm, he 'ain't,'' Adelia assured her.  ``An'
+he's carryin' on so I don't scarcely think he
+knows much what he's doin', Miz Baxter.  He
+brung down some gray britches to the kitchen
+to see if I couldn' press an' clean 'em right quick:
+they was the ones Miss Jane, when she's paintin'
+all them sunsets, lef' her paint-box open, an' one
+them sunsets got on these here gray britches,
+Miz Baxter; an' hones'ly, Miz Baxter, he's fixed
+'em in a condishum, tryin' to git that paint out,
+I don't believe it 'll be no use sendin' 'em to the
+cleaner.  `Clean 'em an' press 'em QUICK?' I says. 
+`I couldn' clean 'em by Resurreckshum, let alone
+pressin' 'em!'  No'm!  Well, he had his blue
+britches, too, but they's so ripped an' tore an'
+kind o' shredded away in one place, the cook she
+jes' hollered when he spread 'em out, an' he
+didn' even ast me could I mend 'em.  An' he
+had two pairs o' them white flannen britches, but
+hones'ly, Miz Baxter, I don't scarcely think
+Genesis would wear 'em, the way they is now! 
+`Well,' I says, `ain't but one thing lef' to do _I_ can
+see,' I says.  `Why don't you go put on that
+nice black suit you had las' winter?' ''
+
+``Of course!'' Mrs. Baxter cried.  ``I'll go
+and--''
+
+``No'm,'' said Adelia.  ``You don' need to. 
+He's up in the attic now, r'arin' roun' 'mongs'
+them trunks, but seem to me like I remember
+you put that suit away under the heavy blankets
+in that big cedar ches' with the padlock.  If you
+jes' tell me where is the key, I take it up to him.''
+
+``Under the bureau in the spare room,'' said
+Mrs. Baxter.  ``HURRY!''
+
+Adelia hurried; and, fifteen minutes later,
+William, for the last time that afternoon, surveyed
+himself in his mirror.  His face showed the
+strain that had been upon him and under which
+he still labored; the black suit was a map of
+creases, and William was perspiring more freely
+than ever under the heavy garments.  But at
+least he was clothed.
+
+He emptied his pockets, disgorging upon the
+floor a multitude of small white spheres, like
+marbles.  Then, as he stepped out into the hall,
+he discovered that their odor still remained about
+him; so he stopped and carefully turned his
+pockets inside out, one after the other, but finding
+that he still smelled vehemently of the ``moth-
+balls,'' though not one remained upon him, he
+went to his mother's room and sprinkled violet
+toilet-water upon his chest and shoulders.  He
+disliked such odors, but that left by the moth-
+balls was intolerable, and, laying hands upon a
+canister labeled ``Hyacinth,'' he contrived to pour
+a quantity of scented powder inside his collar,
+thence to be distributed by the force of gravity
+so far as his dampness permitted.
+
+Lo, William was now ready to go to his party! 
+Moist, wilted, smelling indeed strangely, he was
+ready.
+
+But when he reached the foot of the stairs he
+discovered that there was one thing more to be
+done.  Indignation seized him, and also a creeping
+fear chilled his spine, as he beheld a lurking
+shape upon the porch, stealthily moving toward
+the open door.  It was the lowly Clematis, dog
+unto Genesis.
+
+William instantly divined the purpose of
+Clematis.  It was debatable whether Clematis
+had remained upon the premises after the
+departure of Genesis, or had lately returned thither
+upon some errand of his own, but one thing was
+certain, and the manner of Clematis--his attitude,
+his every look, his every gesture--made
+it as clear as day.  Clematis had discovered, by
+one means or another, the presence of Flopit in
+the house, and had determined to see him personally.
+
+Clematis wore his most misleading expression;
+a stranger would have thought him shy and
+easily turned from his purpose--but William was
+not deceived.  He knew that if Clematis meant
+to see Flopit, a strong will, a ready brain, and
+stern action were needed to thwart him; but
+at all costs that meeting must be prevented. 
+Things had been awful enough, without that!
+
+He was well aware that Clematis could not be
+driven away, except temporarily, for nothing was
+further fixed upon Clematis than his habit of
+retiring under pressure, only to return and return
+again.  True, the door could have been shut in
+the intruder's face, but he would have sought
+other entrance with possible success, or, failing
+that, would have awaited in the front yard the
+dispersal of the guests and Flopit's consequent
+emerging.  This was a contretemps not to be
+endured.
+
+The door of the living-room was closed, muffling
+festal noises and permitting safe passage
+through the hall.  William cast a hunted look
+over his shoulder; then he approached Clematis.
+
+``Good ole doggie,'' he said, huskily.  ``Hyuh,
+Clem!  Hyuh, Clem!''
+
+Clematis moved sidelong, retreating with his
+head low and his tail denoting anxious thoughts.
+
+``Hyuh, Clem!'' said William, trying, with
+only fair success, to keep his voice from sounding
+venomous.  ``Hyuh, Clem!''
+
+Clematis continued his deprecatory retreat.
+
+Thereupon William essayed a ruse--he pretended
+to nibble at something, and then extended
+his hand as if it held forth a gift of food.  ``Look,
+Clem,'' he said.  ``Yum-yum!  Meat, Clem! 
+Good meat!''
+
+For once Clematis was half credulous.  He did
+not advance, but he elongated himself to investigate
+the extended hand, and the next instant
+found himself seized viciously by the scruff of
+the neck.  He submitted to capture in absolute
+silence.  Only the slightest change of countenance
+betrayed his mortification at having been
+found so easy a gull; this passed, and a look
+of resolute stoicism took its place.
+
+He refused to walk, but offered merely nominal
+resistance, as a formal protest which he wished
+to be of record, though perfectly understanding
+that it availed nothing at present.  William
+dragged him through the long hall and down a
+short passageway to the cellar door.  This he
+opened, thrust Clematis upon the other side of it,
+closed and bolted it.
+
+Immediately a stentorian howl raised blood-
+curdling echoes and resounded horribly through
+the house.  It was obvious that Clematis
+intended to make a scene, whether he was present
+at it or not.  He lifted his voice in sonorous
+dolor, stating that he did not like the cellar
+and would continue thus to protest as long as
+he was left in it alone.  He added that he was
+anxious to see Flopit and considered it an
+unexampled outrage that he was withheld from the
+opportunity.
+
+Smitten with horror, William reopened the
+door and charged down the cellar stairs after
+Clematis, who closed his caitiff mouth and gave
+way precipitately.  He fled from one end of the
+cellar to the other and back, while William
+pursued; choking, and calling in low, ferocious tones:
+``Good doggie!  Good ole doggie!  Hyuh, Clem! 
+Meat, Clem, meat--''
+
+There was dodging through coal-bins; there
+was squirming between barrels; there was high
+jumping and broad jumping, and there was a final
+aspiring but baffled dash for the top of the cellar
+stairs, where the door, forgotten by William,
+stood open.  but it was here that Clematis,
+after a long and admirable exhibition of ingenuity,
+no less than agility, submitted to capture. 
+That is to say, finding himself hopelessly pinioned,
+he resumed the stoic.
+
+Grimly the panting and dripping William
+dragged him through the kitchen, where the cook
+cried out unintelligibly, seeming to summon
+Adelia, who was not present.  Through the back
+yard went captor and prisoner, the latter now
+maintaining a seated posture--his pathetic 
+conception of dignity under duress.  Finally, into
+a small shed or tool-house, behind Mrs. Baxter's
+flower-beds, went Clematis in a hurried and
+spasmodic manner.  The instant the door slammed
+he lifted his voice--and was bidden to use it now
+as much as he liked.
+
+Adelia, with a tray of used plates, encountered
+the son of the house as he passed through the
+kitchen on his return, and her eyes were those of
+one who looks upon miracles.
+
+William halted fiercely.
+
+``What's the matter?'' he demanded.  ``Is
+my face dirty?''
+
+``You mean, are it too dirty to go in yonduh
+to the party?'' Adelia asked, slowly.  ``No, suh;
+you look all right to go in there.  You lookin'
+jes' fine to go in there now, Mist' Willie!''
+
+Something in her tone struck him as peculiar,
+even as ominous, but his blood was up--he would
+not turn back now.  He strode into the hall and
+opened the door of the ``living-room.''
+
+Jane was sitting on the floor, busily painting
+sunsets in a large blank-book which she had
+obtained for that exclusive purpose.
+
+She looked up brightly as William appeared in
+the doorway, and in answer to his wild gaze she
+said:
+
+``I got a little bit sick, so mamma told me
+to keep quiet a while.  She's lookin' for you all
+over the house.  She told papa she don't know
+what in mercy's name people are goin' to think
+about you, Willie.''
+
+The distraught youth strode to her.  ``The
+party--'' he choked.  ``WHERE--''
+
+``They all stayed pretty long,'' said Jane,
+``but the last ones said they had to go home to
+their dinners when papa came, a little while ago. 
+Johnnie Watson was carryin' Flopit for that
+Miss Pratt.''
+
+William dropped into the chair beside which
+Jane had established herself upon the floor. 
+Then he uttered a terrible cry and rose.
+
+Again Jane had painted a sunset she had not
+intended.
+
+
+
+XV
+
+ROMANCE OF STATISTICS
+
+On a warm morning, ten days later, William
+stood pensively among his mother's flower-
+beds behind the house, his attitude denoting a
+low state of vitality.  Not far away, an aged
+negro sat upon a wheelbarrow in the hot sun,
+tremulously yet skilfully whittling a piece of
+wood into the shape of a boat, labor more to his
+taste, evidently, than that which he had abandoned
+at the request of Jane.  Allusion to this
+preference for a lighter task was made by Genesis,
+who was erecting a trellis on the border of the
+little garden.
+
+``Pappy whittle all day,'' he chuckled.  ``Whittle
+all night, too!  Pappy, I thought you 'uz
+goin' to git 'at long bed all spade' up fer me by
+noon.  Ain't 'at what you tole me?''
+
+``You let him alone, Genesis,'' said Jane, who
+sat by the old man's side, deeply fascinated. 
+``There's goin' to be a great deal of rain in the
+next few days.  maybe, an' I haf to have this boat
+ready.''
+
+The aged darky lifted his streaky and diminished
+eyes to the burnished sky, and laughed. 
+``Rain come some day, anyways,'' he said.  ``We
+git de boat ready 'fo' she fall, dat sho.''  His
+glance wandered to William and rested upon him
+with feeble curiosity.  ``Dat ain' yo' pappy, is
+it?'' he asked Jane.
+
+``I should say it isn't!'' she exclaimed.  ``It's
+Willie.  He was only seventeen about two or
+three months ago, Mr. Genesis.''  This was not
+the old man's name, but Jane had evolved it,
+inspired by respect for one so aged and so kind
+about whittling.  He was the father of Genesis,
+and the latter, neither to her knowledge nor to
+her imagination, possessed a surname.
+
+``I got cat'rack in my lef' eye,'' said Mr.
+Genesis, ``an' de right one, she kine o' tricksy,
+too.  Tell black man f'um white man, little f'um
+big.''
+
+``I'd hate it if he was papa,'' said Jane,
+confidentially.  ``He's always cross about somep'm,
+because he's in love.''  She approached her
+mouth to her whittling friend's ear and continued
+in a whisper:  ``He's in love of Miss Pratt. 
+She's out walkin' with Joe Bullitt.  I was in the
+front yard with Willie, an' we saw 'em go by. 
+He's mad.''
+
+William did not hear her.  Moodily, he had
+discovered that there was something amiss with
+the buckle of his belt, and, having ungirded
+himself, he was biting the metal tongue of the
+buckle in order to straighten it.  This fell under
+the observation of Genesis, who remonstrated.
+
+``You break you' teef on 'at buckle,'' he said.
+
+``No, I won't, either,'' William returned,
+crossly.
+
+``Ain' my teef,'' said Genesis.  ``Break 'em,
+you want to!''
+
+The attention of Mr. Genesis did not seem to be
+attracted to the speakers; he continued his whittling
+in a craftsman-like manner, which brought
+praise from Jane.
+
+``You can see to whittle, Mr. Genesis,'' she
+said.  ``You whittle better than anybody in the
+world.''
+
+``I speck so, mebbe,'' Mr. Genesis returned,
+with a little complacency.  ``How ole yo' pappy?''
+
+``Oh, he's OLD!'' Jane explained.
+
+William deigned to correct her.  ``He's not
+old, he's middle-aged.''
+
+``Well, suh,'' said Mr. Genesis, ``I had three
+chillum 'fo' I 'uz twenty.  I had two when I 'uz
+eighteem.''
+
+William showed sudden interest.  ``You did!''
+he exclaimed.  ``How old were you when you
+had the first one?''
+
+``I 'uz jes' yo' age,'' said the old man.  ``I 'uz
+seventeem.''
+
+``By George!'' cried William.
+
+Jane seemed much less impressed than William,
+seventeen being a long way from ten,
+though, of course, to seventeen itself hardly any
+information could be imagined as more interesting
+than that conveyed by the words of the aged
+Mr. Genesis.  The impression made upon William
+was obviously profound and favorable.
+
+``By George!'' he cried again.
+
+``Genesis he de youngis' one,'' said the old
+man.  ``Genesis he 'uz bawn when I 'uz sixty-one.''
+
+William moved closer.  ``What became of the
+one that was born when you were seventeen?''
+he asked.
+
+``Well, suh,'' said Mr. Genesis, ``I nev' did
+know.''
+
+At this, Jane's interest equaled William's. 
+Her eyes consented to leave the busy hands
+of the aged darky, and, much enlarged, rose to
+his face.  After a little pause of awe and
+sympathy she inquired:
+
+``Was it a boy or a girl?''
+
+The old man deliberated within himself. 
+``Seem like it mus' been a boy.''
+
+``Did it die?'' Jane asked, softly.
+
+``I reckon it mus' be dead by now,'' he
+returned, musingly.  ``Good many of 'em dead:
+what I KNOWS is dead.  Yes'm, I reckon so.''
+
+``How old were you when you were married?''
+William asked, with a manner of peculiar 
+earnestness;--it was the manner of one who 
+addresses a colleague.
+
+``Me?  Well, suh, dat 'pen's.''  He seemed to
+search his memory.  ``I rickalect I 'uz ma'ied
+once in Looavle,'' he said.
+
+Jane's interest still followed the first child. 
+``Was that where it was born, Mr. Genesis?'' she
+asked.
+
+He looked puzzled, and paused in his whittling
+to rub his deeply corrugated forehead.  ``Well,
+suh, mus' been some bawn in Looavle.  Genesis,''
+he called to his industrious son, ``whaih 'uz YOU
+bawn?''
+
+``Right 'n 'is town,'' laughed Genesis.  ``You
+fergit a good deal, pappy, but I notice you don'
+fergit come to meals!''
+
+The old man grunted, resuming his whittling
+busily.  ``Hain' much use,'' he complained. 
+``Cain' eat nuff'm 'lessen it all gruelly.  Man
+cain' eat nuff'm 'lessen he got teef.  Genesis,
+di'n' I hyuh you tellin' dis white gemmun take
+caih his teef--not bite on no i'on?''
+
+William smiled in pity.  ``I don't need to
+bother about that, I guess,'' he said.  ``I can
+crack nuts with my teeth.''
+
+``Yes, suh,'' said the old man.  ``You kin now. 
+Ev'y nut you crac' now goin' cos' you a yell
+when you git 'long 'bout fawty an' fifty.  You
+crack nuts now an' you'll holler den!''
+
+``Well, I guess I won't worry myself much now
+about what won't happen till I'm forty or fifty,''
+said William.  ``My teeth 'll last MY time, I
+guess.''
+
+That brought a chuckle from Mr. Genesis. 
+``Jes' listen!'' he exclaimed.  ``Young man
+think he ain' nev' goin' be ole man.  Else he think,
+`Dat ole man what I'm goin' to be, dat ain'
+goin' be me 'tall--dat goin' be somebody else! 
+What I caih 'bout dat ole man?  I ain't a-goin'
+take caih o' no teef fer HIM!'  Yes, suh, an' den
+when he GIT to be ole man, he say, `What become
+o' dat young man I yoosta be?  Where is dat
+young man agone to?  He 'uz a fool, dat's what
+--an' _I_ ain' no fool, so he mus' been somebody
+else, not me; but I do jes' wish I had him hyuh
+'bout two minutes--long enough to lam him
+fer not takin' caih o' my teef fer me!'  Yes, suh!''
+
+William laughed; his good humor was restored
+and he found the conversation of Mr. Genesis
+attractive.  He seated himself upon an upturned
+bucket near the wheelbarrow, and reverted to a
+former theme.  ``Well, I HAVE heard of people
+getting married even younger 'n you were,'' he said. 
+``You take India, for instance.  Why, they get
+married in India when they're twelve, and even
+seven and eight years old.''
+
+``They do not!'' said Jane, promptly.  ``Their
+mothers and fathers wouldn't let 'em, an' they
+wouldn't want to, anyway.''
+
+``I suppose you been to India and know all
+about it!'' William retorted.  ``For the matter o'
+that, there was a young couple got married in
+Pennsylvania the other day; the girl was only
+fifteen, and the man was sixteen.  It was in the
+papers, and their parents consented, and said
+it was a good thing.  Then there was a case in
+Fall River, Massachusetts, where a young man
+eighteen years old married a woman forty-one
+years old; it was in the papers, too.  And I
+heard of another case somewhere in Iowa--a boy
+began shaving when he was thirteen, and shaved
+every day for four years, and now he's got a full
+beard, and he's goin' to get married this year--
+before he's eighteen years old.  Joe Bullitt's got
+a cousin in Iowa that knows about this case--he
+knows the girl this fellow with the beard is
+goin' to marry, and he says he expects it 'll turn
+out the best thing could have happened.  They're
+goin' to live on a farm.  There's hunderds of
+cases like that, only you don't hear of more'n
+just a few of 'em.  People used to get married at
+sixteen, seventeen, eighteen--anywhere in there
+--and never think anything of it at all.  Right up
+to about a hunderd years ago there were more
+people married at those ages than there were
+along about twenty-four and twenty-five, the way
+they are now.  For instance, you take Shakespeare--''
+
+William paused.
+
+Mr. Genesis was scraping the hull of the miniature
+boat with a piece of broken glass, in lieu of
+sandpaper, but he seemed to be following his
+young friend's remarks with attention.  William
+had mentioned Shakespeare impulsively, in the
+ardor of demonstrating his point; however, upon
+second thought he decided to withdraw the name.
+
+``I mean, you take the olden times,'' he went
+on; ``hardly anybody got married after they
+were nineteen or twenty years old, unless they
+were widowers, because they were all married
+by that time.  And right here in our own county,
+there were eleven couples married in the last
+six months under twenty-one years of age. 
+I've got a friend named Johnnie Watson; his
+uncle works down at the court-house and told
+him about it, so it can't be denied.  Then there
+was a case I heard of over in--''
+
+Mr. Genesis uttered a loud chuckle.  ``My
+goo'ness!'' he exclaimed.  ``How you c'leck all'
+dem fac's?  Lan' name!  What puzzlin' ME is
+how you 'member 'em after you done c'leck 'em. 
+Ef it uz me I couldn't c'leck 'em in de firs' place,
+an' ef I could, dey wouldn' be no use to me,
+'cause I couldn't rickalect 'em!''
+
+``Well, it isn't so hard,'' said William, ``if you
+kind of get the hang of it.''  Obviously pleased,
+he plucked a spear of grass and placed it between
+his teeth, adding, ``I always did have a pretty
+good memory.''
+
+``Mamma says you're the most forgetful boy
+she ever heard of,'' said Jane, calmly.  ``She
+says you can't remember anything two minutes.''
+
+William's brow darkened.  ``Now look here--''
+he began, with severity.
+
+But the old darky intervened.  ``Some folks
+got good rickaleckshum an' some folks got bad,''
+he said, pacifically.  ``Young white germmun
+rickalect mo' in two minute dan what I kin in two
+years!''
+
+Jane appeared to accept this as settlement of
+the point at issue, while William bestowed upon
+Mr. Genesis a glance of increased favor.  William's
+expression was pleasant to see; in fact,
+it was the pleasantest expression Jane had seen
+him wearing for several days.  Almost always,
+lately, he was profoundly preoccupied, and so
+easily annoyed that there was no need to be
+careful of his feelings, because--as his mother
+observed--he was ``certain to break out about
+every so often, no matter what happened!''
+
+``I remember pretty much everything,'' he
+said, as if in modest explanation of the performance
+which had excited the aged man's admira-
+tion.  ``I can remember things that happened
+when I was four years old.''
+
+``So can I,'' said Jane.  ``I can remember
+when I was two.  I had a kitten fell down the
+cistern and papa said it hurt the water.''
+
+``My goo'ness!'' Mr. Genesis exclaimed.  ``An'
+you 'uz on'y two year ole, honey!  Bes' _I_ kin do
+is rickalect when I 'uz 'bout fifty.''
+
+``Oh no!'' Jane protested.  ``You said you
+remembered havin' a baby when you were seventeen,
+Mr. Genesis.''
+
+``Yes'm,'' he admitted.  ``I mean rickalect
+good like you do 'bout yo' li'l' cat an' all how yo'
+pappy tuck on 'bout it.  I kin rickalect SOME,
+but I cain' rickalect GOOD.''
+
+William coughed with a certain importance. 
+``Do you remember,'' he asked, ``when you
+were married, how did you feel about it?  Were
+you kind of nervous, or anything like that, before-
+hand?''
+
+Mr. Genesis again passed a wavering hand
+across his troubled brow.
+
+``I mean,'' said William, observing his
+perplexity, ``were you sort of shaky--f'rinstance, as
+if you were taking an important step in life?''
+
+``Lemme see.''  The old man pondered for a
+moment.  ``I felt mighty shaky once, I rickalect;
+dat time yalla m'latta man shootin' at me
+f 'um behime a snake-fence.''
+
+``Shootin' at you!'' Jane cried, stirred from her
+accustomed placidity.  ``Mr. Genesis!  What
+DID he do that for?''
+
+``Nuff'm!'' replied Mr. Genesis, with feeling. 
+``Nuff'm in de wide worl'!  He boun' to shoot
+SOMEbody, an' pick on me 'cause I 'uz de
+handies'.''
+
+He closed his knife, gave the little boat a final
+scrape with the broken glass, and then a soothing
+rub with the palm of his hand.  ``Dah, honey,''
+he said--and simultaneously factory whistles began
+to blow.  ``Dah yo' li'l' steamboat good as I
+kin git her widout no b'iler ner no smoke-
+stack.  I reckon yo' pappy 'll buy 'em fer you.''
+
+Jane was grateful.  ``It's a beautiful boat,
+Mr. Genesis.  I do thank you!''
+
+Genesis, the son, laid aside his tools and
+approached.  ``Pappy finish whittlin' spang on
+'em noon whistles,'' he chuckled.  ``Come 'long,
+pappy.  I bet you walk fas' 'nuff goin' todes
+dinnuh.  I hear fry-cakes ploppin' in skillet!''
+
+Mr. Genesis laughed loudly, his son's words
+evidently painting a merry and alluring picture; and
+the two, followed by Clematis, moved away in
+the direction of the alley gate.  William and
+Jane watched the brisk departure of the antique
+with sincere esteem and liking.
+
+``He must have been sixteen,'' said William,
+musingly.
+
+``When?'' Jane asked.
+
+William, in deep thought, was still looking
+after Mr. Genesis; he was almost unconscious
+that he had spoken aloud and he replied, automatically:
+
+``When he was married.''
+
+Then, with a start, he realized into how great a
+condescension he had been betrayed, and hastily
+added, with pronounced hauteur, ``Things you
+don't understand.  You run in the house.''
+
+Jane went into the house, but she did not
+carry her obedience to the point of running. 
+She walked slowly, and in that state of profound
+reverie which was characteristic of her when she
+was immersed in the serious study of William's
+affairs.
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+THE SHOWER
+
+She continued to be thoughtful until after
+lunch, when, upon the sun's disappearance
+behind a fat cloud, Jane and the heavens
+exchanged dispositions for the time--the heavens
+darkened and Jane brightened.  She was in the
+front hall, when the sunshine departed rather
+abruptly, and she jumped for joy, pointing to the
+open door.  ``Look!  Looky there!'' she called
+to her brother.  Richly ornamented, he was
+descending the front stairs, his embellishments
+including freshly pressed white trousers, a new
+straw hat, unusual shoes, and a blasphemous
+tie.  ``I'm goin' to get to sail my boat,'' Jane
+shouted.  ``It's goin' to rain.''
+
+``It is not,'' said William, irritated.  ``It's
+not going to anything like rain.  I s'pose you
+think it ought to rain just to let you sail that
+chunk of wood!''
+
+``It's goin' to rain--it's goin' to rain!''  (Jane
+made a little singsong chant of it.)  ``It's goin'
+to rain--it gives Willie a pain--it's goin' to rain
+--it gives Willie a pain--it's goin' to--''
+
+He interrupted her sternly.  ``Look here! 
+You're old enough to know better.  I s'pose you
+think there isn't anything as important in the
+world as your gettin' the chance to sail that little
+boat!  I s'pose you think business and everything
+else has got to stop and get ruined, maybe,
+just to please you!''  As he spoke he walked to
+an umbrella-stand in the hall and deliberately
+took therefrom a bamboo walking-stick of his
+father's.  Indeed, his denunciation of Jane's
+selfishness about the weather was made partly to
+reassure himself and settle his nerves, strained
+by the unusual procedure he contemplated, and
+partly to divert Jane's attention.  In the latter
+effort he was unsuccessful; her eyes became
+strange and unbearable.
+
+She uttered a shriek:
+
+``Willie's goin' to carry a CANE!''
+
+``You hush up!'' he said, fiercely, and hurried
+out through the front door.  She followed him to
+the edge of the porch; she stood there while he
+made his way to the gate, and she continued to
+stand there as he went down the street, trying to
+swing the cane in an accustomed and unembarrassed
+manner.
+
+Jane made this difficult.
+
+``Willie's got a CANE!'' she screamed.  ``He's
+got papa's CANE!'' Then, resuming her little
+chant, she began to sing:  ``It's goin' to rain--
+Willie's got papa's cane--it's goin' to rain--
+Willie's got papa's cane!''  She put all of her
+voice into a final effort.  ``MISS PRATT'LL GET WET
+IF YOU DON'T TAKE AN UMBERELLER-R-R!''
+
+The attention of several chance pedestrians
+had been attracted, and the burning William,
+breaking into an agonized half-trot, disappeared
+round the corner.  Then Jane retired within the
+house, feeling that she had done her duty.  It
+would be his own fault if he got wet.
+
+Rain was coming.  Rain was in the feel of the
+air--and in Jane's hope.
+
+She was not disappointed.  Mr. Genesis, so
+secure of fair weather in the morning, was proved
+by the afternoon to be a bad prophet.  The fat
+cloud was succeeded by others, fatter; a corpulent
+army assailed the vault of heaven, heavy
+outriders before a giant of evil complexion and
+devastating temper.
+
+An hour after William had left the house,
+the dust in the streets and all loose paper and
+rubbish outdoors rose suddenly to a considerable
+height and started for somewhere else.  The trees
+had colic; everything became as dark as winter
+twilight; streaks of wildfire ran miles in a second,
+and somebody seemed to be ripping up sheets
+of copper and tin the size of farms.  The rain
+came with a swish, then with a rattle, and then
+with a roar, while people listened at their garret
+doorways and marveled.  Window-panes turned
+to running water;--it poured.
+
+Then it relented, dribbled, shook down a few
+last drops; and passed on to the countryside. 
+Windows went up; eaves and full gutters plashed
+and gurgled; clearer light fell; then, in a moment,
+sunshine rushed upon shining green trees and
+green grass; doors opened--and out came the
+children!
+
+Shouting, they ran to the flooded gutters. 
+Here were rivers, lakes, and oceans for navigation;
+easy pilotage, for the steersman had but to wade
+beside his craft and guide it with a twig.  Jane's
+timely boat was one of the first to reach the
+water.
+
+Her mother had been kind, and Jane, with
+shoes and stockings left behind her on the porch,
+was a happy sailor as she waded knee-deep along
+the brimming curbstones.  At the corner below
+the house of the Baxters, the street was flooded
+clear across, and Jane's boat, following the
+current, proceeded gallantly onward here, sailed
+down the next block, and was thoughtlessly
+entering a sewer when she snatched it out of the
+water.  Looking about her, she perceived a
+gutter which seemed even lovelier than the one
+she had followed.  It was deeper and broader
+and perhaps a little browner, wherefore she
+launched her ship upon its dimpled bosom and
+explored it as far as the next sewer-hole or
+portage.  Thus the voyage continued for several
+blocks with only one accident--which might have
+happened to anybody.  It was an accident in the
+nature of a fall, caused by the sliding of Jane's
+left foot on some slippery mud.  This treacherous
+substance, covered with water, could not have
+been anticipated; consequently Jane's emotions
+were those of indignation rather than of culpability. 
+Upon rising, she debated whether or not
+she should return to her dwelling, inclining to
+the opinion that the authorities there would have
+taken the affirmative; but as she was wet not
+much above the waist, and the guilt lay all upon
+the mud, she decided that such an interruption
+of her journey would be a gross injustice to herself. 
+Navigation was reopened.
+
+Presently the boat wandered into a miniature
+whirlpool, grooved in a spiral and pleasant
+to see.  Slowly the water went round and round,
+and so did the boat without any assistance from
+Jane.  Watching this movement thoughtfully,
+she brought forth from her drenched pocket some
+sodden whitish disks, recognizable as having been
+crackers, and began to eat them.  Thus absorbed,
+she failed at first to notice the approach of two
+young people along the sidewalk.
+
+They were the entranced William and Miss
+Pratt; and their appearance offered a suggestive
+contrast in relative humidity.  In charming and
+tender-colored fabrics, fluffy and cool and summery,
+she was specklessly dry; not a drop had
+touched even the little pink parasol over her
+shoulder, not one had fallen upon the tiny white
+doglet drowsing upon her arm.  But William was
+wet--he was still more than merely damp,
+though they had evidently walked some distance
+since the rain had ceased to fall.  His new hat
+was a mucilaginous ruin; his dank coat sagged;
+his shapeless trousers flopped heavily, and his
+shoes gave forth marshy sounds as he walked.
+
+No brilliant analyst was needed to diagnose
+this case.  Surely any observer must have said: 
+``Here is a dry young lady, and at her side walks
+a wet young gentleman who carries an umbrella
+in one hand and a walking-stick in the other. 
+Obviously the young lady and gentleman were
+out for a stroll for which the stick was
+sufficient, and they were caught by the rain. 
+Before any fell, however, he found her a place of
+shelter--such as a corner drug-store and then
+himself gallantly went forth into the storm for an
+umbrella.  He went to the young lady's house,
+or to the house where she may be visiting, for,
+if he had gone to his own he would have left
+his stick.  It may be, too, that at his own, his
+mother would have detained him, since he is
+still at the age when it is just possible sometimes
+for mothers to get their sons into the house when
+it rains.  He returned with the umbrella to the
+corner drug-store at probably about the time
+when the rain ceased to fall, because his extreme
+moistness makes necessary the deduction that
+he was out in all the rain that rained.  But he
+does not seem to care.''
+
+The fact was that William did not even know
+that he was wet.  With his head sidewise and his
+entranced eyes continuously upon the pretty face
+so near, his state was almost somnambulistic.  Not
+conscious of his soggy garments or of the deluged
+streets, he floated upon a rosy cloud, incense
+about him, far-away music enchanting his ears.
+
+If Jane had not recognized the modeling of his
+features she might not have known them to be
+William's, for they had altered their grouping
+to produce an expression with which she was
+totally unfamiliar.  To be explicit, she was
+unfamiliar with this expression in that place--
+that is to say, upon William, though she had seen
+something like it upon other people, once or
+twice, in church.
+
+William's thoughts might have seemed to her
+as queer as his expression, could she have known
+them.  They were not very definite, however,
+taking the form of sweet, vague pictures of the
+future.  These pictures were of married life; that
+is, married life as William conceived it for himself
+and Miss Pratt--something strikingly different
+from that he had observed as led by his
+mother and father, or their friends and relatives. 
+In his rapt mind he beheld Miss Pratt walking
+beside him ``through life,'' with her little parasol
+and her little dog--her exquisite face always
+lifted playfully toward his own (with admiration
+underneath the playfulness), and he heard
+her voice of silver always rippling ``baby-talk''
+throughout all the years to come.  He saw her
+applauding his triumphs--though these remained
+indefinite in his mind, and he was unable to
+foreshadow the business or profession which
+was to provide the amazing mansion (mainly
+conservatory) which he pictured as their home. 
+Surrounded by flowers, and maintaining a private
+orchestra, he saw Miss Pratt and himself
+growing old together, attaining to such ages as
+thirty and even thirty-five, still in perfect
+harmony, and always either dancing in the evenings
+or strolling hand in hand in the moonlight. 
+Sometimes they would visit the nursery, where
+curly-headed, rosy cherubs played upon a white-
+bear rug in the firelight.  These were all boys
+and ready-made, the youngest being three years
+old and without a past.
+
+They would be beautiful children, happy with
+their luxurious toys on the bear rug, and they
+would NEVER be seen in any part of the house
+except the nursery.  Their deportment would be
+flawless, and--
+
+``WILL-EE!''
+
+The aviator struck a hole in the air; his heart
+misgave him.  Then he came to earth--a sickening
+drop, and instantaneous.
+
+``WILL-EE!''
+
+There was Jane, a figurine in a plastic state
+and altogether disgraceful;--she came up out of
+the waters and stood before them with feet of
+clay, indeed; pedestaled upon the curbstone.
+
+``Who IS that CURIOUS child?'' said Miss Pratt,
+stopping.
+
+William shuddered.
+
+``Was she calling YOU?'' Miss Pratt asked,
+incredulously.
+
+``Willie, I told you you better take an umbereller,''
+said Jane, ``instead of papa's cane.''  And
+she added, triumphantly, ``Now you see!''
+
+Moving forward, she seemed to have in mind
+a dreadful purpose; there was something about
+her that made William think she intended casually
+to accompany him and Miss Pratt.
+
+``You go home!'' he commanded, hoarsely.
+
+Miss Pratt uttered a little scream of surprise
+and recognition.  ``It's your little sister!'' she
+exclaimed, and then, reverting to her favorite
+playfulness of enunciation, `` 'Oor ickle sissa!''
+she added, gaily, as a translation.  Jane
+misunderstood it; she thought Miss Pratt meant
+``OUR little sister.''
+
+``Go home!'' said William.
+
+``No'ty, no'ty!'' said Miss Pratt, shaking her
+head.  ``Me 'fraid oo's a no'ty, no'ty ickle dirl! 
+All datie!''
+
+Jane advanced.  ``I wish you'd let me carry
+Flopit for you,'' she said.
+
+Giving forth another gentle scream, Miss Pratt
+hopped prettily backward from Jane's extended
+hands.  ``Oo-oo!'' she cried, chidingly.  ``Mustn't
+touch!  P'eshus Flopit all soap-water-wash clean. 
+Ickle dirly all muddy-nassy!  Ickle dirly must
+doe home, det all soap-water-wash clean like NICE
+ickle sissa.  Evabody will love 'oor ickle sissa den,''
+she concluded, turning to William.  ``Tell 'oor
+ickle sissa MUS' doe home det soap-water-wash!''
+
+Jane stared at Miss Pratt with fixed solemnity
+during the delivery of these admonitions, and it
+was to be seen that they made an impression
+upon her.  Her mouth slowly opened, but she
+spake not.  An extraordinary idea had just begun
+to make itself at home in her mind.  It was an
+idea which had been hovering in the neighborhood
+of that domain ever since William's comments
+upon the conversation of Mr. Genesis, in
+the morning.
+
+``Go home!'' repeated William, and then, as
+Jane stood motionless and inarticulate, transfixed
+by her idea, he said, almost brokenly, to his
+dainty companion, ``I DON'T know what you'll
+think of my mother!  To let this child--''
+
+Miss Pratt laughed comfortingly as they
+started on again.  ``Isn't mamma's fault, foolish
+boy Baxter.  Ickle dirlies will det datie!''
+
+The profoundly mortified William glanced back
+over his shoulder, bestowing upon Jane a look in
+which bitterness was mingled with apprehension. 
+But she remained where she was, and did not
+follow.  That was a little to be thankful for, and
+he found some additional consolation in believing
+that Miss Pratt had not caught the frightful
+words, ``papa's cane,'' at the beginning of the
+interview.  He was encouraged to this belief by
+her presently taking from his hand the decoration
+in question and examining it with tokens of
+pleasure.  `` 'Oor pitty walk'-'tick,'' she called it,
+with a tact he failed to suspect.  And so he
+began to float upward again; glamors enveloped
+him and the earth fell away.
+
+He was alone in space with Miss Pratt once
+more.
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+JANE'S THEORY
+
+The pale end of sunset was framed in the
+dining-room windows, and Mr. and Mrs. Baxter
+and the rehabilitated Jane were at the table, when
+William made his belated return from the afternoon's
+excursion.  Seating himself, he waived his
+mother's references to the rain, his clothes, and
+probable colds, and after one laden glance at
+Jane denoting a grievance so elaborate that he
+despaired of setting it forth in a formal complaint
+to the Powers--he fell into a state of trance.  He
+took nourishment automatically, and roused himself
+but once during the meal, a pathetic encounter
+with his father resulting from this awakening.
+
+``Everybody in town seemed to be on the
+streets, this evening, as I walked home,'' Mr.
+Baxter remarked, addressing his wife.  ``I suppose
+there's something in the clean air after a
+rain that brings 'em out.  I noticed one thing,
+though; maybe it's the way they dress nowadays,
+but you certainly don't see as many pretty girls
+on the streets as there used to be.''
+
+William looked up absently.  ``I used to think
+that, too,'' he said, with dreamy condescension,
+``when I was younger.''
+
+Mr. Baxter stared.
+
+``Well, I'll be darned!'' he said.
+
+``Papa, papa!'' his wife called, reprovingly.
+
+``When you were younger!'' Mr. Baxter repeated,
+with considerable irritation.  ``How old
+d' you think you are?''
+
+``I'm going on eighteen,'' said William, firmly. 
+``I know plenty of cases--cases where--''  He
+paused, relapsing into lethargy.
+
+``What's the matter with him?'' Mr. Baxter
+inquired, heatedly, of his wife.
+
+William again came to life.  ``I was saying that
+a person's age is different according to circumstances,''
+he explained, with dignity, if not lucidity. 
+``You take Genesis's father.  Well, he was
+married when he was sixteen.  Then there was a
+case over in Iowa that lots of people know about
+and nobody thinks anything of.  A young man
+over there in Iowa that's seventeen years old
+began shaving when he was thirteen and shaved
+every day for four years, and now--''
+
+He was interrupted by his father, who was no
+longer able to contain himself.  ``And now I suppose
+he's got WHISKERS!'' he burst forth.  ``There's
+an ambition for you!  My soul!''
+
+It was Jane who took up the tale.  She had
+been listening with growing excitement, her eyes
+fixed piercingly upon William.  ``He's got a
+beard!'' she cried, alluding not to her brother,
+but to the fabled Iowan.  ``I heard Willie tell ole
+Mr. Genesis about it.''
+
+``It seems to lie heavily on your mind,'' Mr.
+Baxter said to William.  ``I suppose you feel that
+in the face of such an example, your life between
+the ages of thirteen and seventeen has been virtually
+thrown away?''
+
+William had again relapsed, but he roused
+himself feebly.  ``Sir?'' he said.
+
+``What IS the matter with him?'' Mr. Baxter
+demanded.  ``Half the time lately he seems to be
+hibernating, and only responds by a slight twitching
+when poked with a stick.  The other half of
+the time he either behaves like I-don't-know-
+what or talks about children growing whiskers in
+Iowa!  Hasn't that girl left town yet?''
+
+William was not so deep in trance that this
+failed to stir him.  He left the table.
+
+Mrs. Baxter looked distressed, though, as the
+meal was about concluded, and William had partaken
+of his share in spite of his dreaminess, she
+had no anxieties connected with his sustenance. 
+As for Mr. Baxter, he felt a little remorse,
+undoubtedly, but he was also puzzled.  So plain a
+man was he that he had no perception of the
+callous brutality of the words ``THAT GIRL'' when
+applied to some girls.  He referred to his mystification
+a little later, as he sat with his evening
+paper in the library.
+
+``I don't know what I said to that tetchy boy
+to hurt him,'' he began in an apologetic tone. 
+``I don't see that there was anything too rough
+for him to stand in a little sarcasm.  He needn't
+be so sensitive on the subject of whiskers, it
+seems to me.''
+
+Mrs. Baxter smiled faintly and shook her head.
+
+It was Jane who responded.  She was seated
+upon the floor, disporting herself mildly with her
+paint-box.  ``Papa, I know what's the matter
+with Willie,'' she said.
+
+``Do you?'' Mr. Baxter returned.  ``Well, if
+you make it pretty short, you've got just about
+long enough to tell us before your bedtime.''
+
+``I think he's married,'' said Jane.
+
+``What!''  And her parents united their hilarity.
+
+``I do think he's married,'' Jane insisted,
+unmoved.  ``I think he's married with that Miss
+Pratt.''
+
+``Well,'' said her father, ``he does seem upset,
+and it may be that her visit and the idea of
+whiskers, coming so close together, is more than
+mere coincidence, but I hardly think Willie is
+married, Jane!''
+
+``Well, then,'' she returned, thoughtfully, ``he's
+almost married.  I know that much, anyway.''
+
+``What makes you think so?''
+
+``Well, because!  I KIND of thought he must be
+married, or anyways somep'm, when he talked to
+Mr. Genesis this mornin'.  He said he knew how
+some people got married in Pennsylvania an'
+India, an' he said they were only seven or eight
+years old.  He said so, an' I heard him; an' he
+said there were eleven people married that were
+only seventeen, an' this boy in Iowa got a full
+beard an' got married, too.  An' he said Mr.
+Genesis was only sixteen when HE was married. 
+He talked all about gettin' married when you're
+seventeen years old, an' he said how people
+thought it was the best thing could happen.  So
+I just KNOW he's almost married!''
+
+Mr. Baxter chuckled, and Mrs. Baxter smiled,
+but a shade of thoughtfulness, a remote anxiety,
+tell upon the face of the latter.
+
+``You haven't any other reason, have you,
+Jane?'' she asked.
+
+``Yes'm,'' said Jane, promptly.  ``An' it's a
+more reason than any!  Miss Pratt calls you
+`mamma' as if you were HER mamma.  She does
+it when she talks to Willie.''
+
+``Jane!''
+
+``Yes m, I HEARD her.  An' Willie said, `I don't
+know what you'll think about mother.'  He said,
+`I don't know what you'll think about mother,'
+to Miss Pratt.''
+
+Mrs. Baxter looked a little startled, and her
+husband frowned.  Jane mistook their expressions
+for incredulity.  ``They DID, mamma,'' she
+protested.  ``That's just the way they talked to
+each other.  I heard 'em this afternoon, when
+Willie had papa's cane.''
+
+``Maybe they were doing it to tease you, if you
+were with them,'' Mr. Baxter suggested.
+
+``I wasn't with 'em.  I was sailin' my boat,
+an' they came along, an' first they never saw me,
+an' Willie looked--oh, papa, I wish you'd seen
+him!''  Jane rose to her feet in her excitement. 
+``His face was so funny, you never saw anything
+like it!  He was walkin' along with it turned sideways,
+an' all the time he kept walkin' frontways,
+he kept his face sideways--like this, papa.  Look,
+papa!''  And she gave what she considered a
+faithful imitation of William walking with Miss
+Pratt.  ``Look, papa!  This is the way Willie
+went.  He had it sideways so's he could see Miss.
+Pratt, papa.  An' his face was just like this. 
+Look, papa!''  She contorted her features in a
+terrifying manner.  ``Look, papa!''
+
+``Don't, Jane!'' her mother exclaimed.
+
+``Well, I haf to show papa how Willie looked,
+don't I?'' said Jane, relaxing.  ``That's just the way
+he looked.  Well, an' then they stopped an' talked
+to me, an' Miss Pratt said, `It's our little sister.' ''
+
+``Did she really?'' Mrs. Baxter asked, gravely,
+
+``Yes'm, she did.  Soon as she saw who I was,
+she said, `Why, it's our little sister!'  Only she
+said it that way she talks--sort of foolish.  `It's
+our ittle sissy'--somep'm like that, mamma. 
+She said it twice an' told me to go home an' get
+washed up.  An' Miss Pratt told Willie--Miss
+Pratt said, `It isn't mamma's fault Jane's so
+dirty,' just like that.  She--''
+
+``Are you sure she said `our little sister'?''
+said Mrs. Baxter.
+
+``Why, you can ask Willie!  She said it that
+funny way.  `Our 'ittle sissy'; that's what she
+said.  An' Miss Pratt said, `Ev'rybody would
+love our little sister if mamma washed her in soap
+an' water!'  You can ask Willie; that's exackly
+what Miss Pratt said, an' if you don't believe it
+you can ask HER.  If you don't want to believe it,
+why, you can ask--''
+
+``Hush, dear,'' said Mrs. Baxter.  ``All this
+doesn't mean anything at all, especially such
+nonsense as Willie's thinking of being married. 
+It's your bedtime.''
+
+``Well, but MAMMA--''
+
+``Was that all they said?'' Mr. Baxter inquired.
+
+Jane turned to him eagerly.  ``They said all
+lots of things like that, papa.  They--''
+
+``Nonsense!'' Mrs. Baxter in interrupted.  ``Come,
+it's bedtime.  I'll go up with you.  You mustn't
+think such nonsense.''
+
+``But, mamma--''
+
+``Come along, Jane!''
+
+Jane was obedient in the flesh, but her spirit
+was free; her opinions were her own.  Disappointed
+in the sensation she had expected to
+produce, she followed her mother out of the
+room wearing the expression of a person who
+says, ``You'll SEE--some day when everything's
+ruined!''
+
+Mr. Baxter, left alone, laughed quietly, lifted
+his neglected newspaper to obtain the light at
+the right angle, and then allowed it to languish
+upon his lap again.  Frowning, he began to tap
+the floor with his shoe.
+
+He was trying to remember what things were
+in his head when he was seventeen, and it was
+difficult.  It seemed to him that he had been a
+steady, sensible young fellow--really quite a man
+--at that age.  Looking backward at the blur of
+youthful years, the period from sixteen to twenty-
+five appeared to him as ``pretty much all of a
+piece.''  He could not recall just when he stopped
+being a boy; it must have been at about fifteen,
+he thought.
+
+All at once he sat up stiffly in his chair, and the
+paper slid from his knee.  He remembered an
+autumn, long ago, when he had decided to abandon
+the educational plans of his parents and
+become an actor.  He had located this project
+exactly, for it dated from the night of his
+seventeenth birthday, when he saw John McCullough
+play ``Virginius.''
+
+Even now Mr. Baxter grew a little red as he
+remembered the remarkable letter he had written,
+a few weeks later, to the manager of a passing
+theatrical company.  He had confidently
+expected an answer, and had made his plans to
+leave town quietly with the company and afterward
+reassure his parents by telegraph.  In fact,
+he might have been on the stage at this moment,
+if that manager had taken him.  Mr. Baxter
+began to look nervous.
+
+Still, there is a difference between going on the
+stage and getting married.  ``I don't know,
+though!'' Mr. Baxter thought.  ``And Willie's
+certainly not so well balanced in a GENERAL way as
+I was.''  He wished his wife would come down
+and reassure him, though of course it was all
+nonsense.
+
+But when Mrs. Baxter came down-stairs she
+did not reassure him.  ``Of course Jane's too
+absurd!'' she said.  ``I don't mean that she `made
+it up'; she never does that, and no doubt this
+little Miss Pratt did say about what Jane thought
+she said.  But it all amounts to nothing.''
+
+``Of course!''
+
+``Willie's just going through what several of
+the other boys about his age are going through--
+like Johnnie Watson and Joe Bullitt and Wallace
+Banks.  They all seem to be frantic over her.''
+
+``I caught a glimpse of her the day you had
+her to tea.  She's rather pretty.''
+
+``Adorably!  And perhaps Willie has been just
+a LITTLE bit more frantic than the others.''
+
+``He certainly seems in a queer state!''
+
+At this his wife's tone became serious.  ``Do
+you think he WOULD do as crazy a thing as that?''
+
+Mr. Baxter laughed.  ``Well, I don't know
+what he'd do it ON!  I don't suppose he has more
+than a dollar in his possession.''
+
+``Yes, he has,'' she returned, quickly.  ``Day
+before yesterday there was a second-hand furniture
+man here, and I was too busy to see him,
+but I wanted the storeroom in the cellar cleared
+out, and I told Willie he could have whatever
+the man would pay him for the junk in there, if
+he'd watch to see that they didn't TAKE anything. 
+They found some old pieces that I'd forgotten,
+underneath things, and altogether the man paid
+Willie nine dollars and eighty-five cents.''
+
+``But, mercy-me!'' exclaimed Mr. Baxter, ``the
+girl may be an idiot, but she wouldn't run away
+and marry a boy just barely seventeen on nine
+dollars and eighty-five cents!''
+
+``Oh no!'' said Mrs. Baxter.  ``At least, I
+don't THINK so.  Of course girls do as crazy things
+as boys sometimes--in their way.  I was think-
+ing--''  She paused.  ``Of COURSE there couldn't be
+anything in it, but it did seem a little strange.''
+
+``What did?''
+
+``Why, just before I came down-stairs, Adelia
+came for the laundry; and I asked her if she'd
+seen Willie; and she said he'd put on his dark suit
+after dinner, and he went out through the kitchen,
+carrying his suit-case.''
+
+``He did?''
+
+``Of course,'' Mrs. Baxter went on, slowly, ``I
+COULDN'T believe he'd do such a thing, but he
+really is in a PREPOSTEROUS way over this little
+Miss Pratt, and he DID have that money--''
+
+``By George!'' Mr. Baxter got upon his feet. 
+``The way he talked at dinner, I could come
+pretty near believing he hasn't any more brains
+LEFT than to get married on nine dollars and
+eighty-five cents!  I wouldn't put it past him! 
+By George, I wouldn't!''
+
+``Oh, I don't think he would,'' she remonstrated,
+feebly.  ``Besides, the law wouldn't permit it.''
+
+Mr. Baxter paced the floor.  ``Oh, I suppose
+they COULD manage it.  They could go to some
+little town and give false ages and--''  He broke
+off.  ``Adelia was sure he had his suit-case?''
+
+She nodded.  ``Do you think we'd better go
+down to the Parchers'?  We'd just say we came
+to call, of course, and if--''
+
+``Get your hat on,'' he said.  ``I don't think
+there's anything in it at all, but we'd just as well
+drop down there.  It can't HURT anything.''
+
+``Of course, I don't think--'' she began.
+
+``Neither do I,'' he interrupted, irascibly.  ``But
+with a boy of his age crazy enough to think he's
+in love, how do WE know what 'll happen?  We're
+only his parents!  Get your hat on.''
+
+But when the uneasy couple found themselves
+upon the pavement before the house of the
+Parchers, they paused under the shade-trees in
+the darkness, and presently decided that it was
+not necessary to go in.  Suddenly their uneasiness
+had fallen from them.  From the porch came
+the laughter of several young voices, and then one
+silvery voice, which pretended to be that of a
+tiny child.
+
+``Oh, s'ame! S'ame on 'oo, big Bruvva Josie-
+Joe!  Mus' be polite to Johnny Jump-up, or tant
+play wiv May and Lola!''
+
+``That's Miss Pratt,'' whispered Mrs. Baxter. 
+``She's talking to Johnnie Watson and Joe Bullitt
+and May Parcher.  Let's go home; it's all right. 
+Of course I knew it would be.''
+
+``Why, certainly,'' said Mr. Baxter, as they
+turned.  ``Even if Willie were as crazy as that,
+the little girl would have more sense.  I wouldn't
+have thought anything of it, if you hadn't told me
+about the suit-case.  That looked sort of queer.''
+
+She agreed that it did, but immediately added
+that she had thought nothing of it.  What had
+seemed more significant to her was William's
+interest in the early marriage of Genesis's father,
+and in the Iowa beard story, she said.  Then she
+said that it WAS curious about the suit-case.
+
+And when they came to their own house again,
+there was William sitting alone and silent upon
+the steps of the porch.
+
+``I thought you'd gone out, Willie,'' said his
+mother, as they paused beside him.
+
+``Ma'am?''
+
+``Adelia said you went out, carrying your suit-case.''
+
+``Oh yes,'' he said, languidly.  ``If you leave
+clothes at Schwartz's in the evening they have
+'em pressed in the morning.  You said I looked
+damp at dinner, so I took 'em over and left 'em
+there.''
+
+``I see.''  Mrs. Baxter followed her husband
+to the door, but she stopped on the threshold
+and called back:
+
+``Don't sit there too long, Willie.''
+
+``Ma'am?''
+
+``The dew is falling and it rained so hard to-
+day--I'm afraid it might be damp.''
+
+``Ma'am?''
+
+``Come on,'' Mr. Baxter said to his wife. 
+``He's down on the Parchers' porch, not out in
+front here.  Of course he can't hear you.  It's
+three blocks and a half.''
+
+But William's father was mistaken.  Little he
+knew!  William was not upon the porch of the
+Parchers, with May Parcher and Joe Bullitt and
+Johnnie Watson to interfere.  He was far from
+there, in a land where time was not.  Upon a
+planet floating in pink mist, and uninhabited--
+unless old Mr. Genesis and some Hindoo princes
+and the diligent Iowan may have established
+themselves in its remoter regions--William was
+alone with Miss Pratt, in the conservatory.  And,
+after a time, they went together, and looked into
+the door of a room where an indefinite number of
+little boys--all over three years of age--were
+playing in the firelight upon a white-bear rug. 
+For, in the roseate gossamer that boys' dreams
+are made of, William had indeed entered the
+married state.
+
+His condition was growing worse, every day.
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+THE BIG, FAT LUMMOX
+
+In the morning sunshine, Mrs. Baxter stood
+at the top of the steps of the front porch,
+addressing her son, who listened impatiently and
+edged himself a little nearer the gate every time
+he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
+
+``Willie,'' she said, ``you must really pay some
+attention to the laws of health, or you'll never
+live to be an old man.''
+
+``I don't want to live to be an old man,'' said
+William, earnestly.  ``I'd rather do what I please
+now and die a little sooner.''
+
+``You talk very foolishly,'' his mother returned. 
+``Either come back and put on some heavier
+THINGS or take your overcoat.''
+
+``My overcoat!'' William groaned.  ``They'd
+think I was a lunatic, carrying an overcoat in
+August!''
+
+``Not to a picnic,'' she said.
+
+``Mother, it isn't a picnic, I've told you a
+hunderd times!  You think it's one those ole-
+fashion things YOU used to go to--sit on the damp
+ground and eat sardines with ants all over 'em? 
+This isn't anything like that; we just go out on
+the trolley to this farm-house and have noon
+dinner, and dance all afternoon, and have supper,
+and then come home on the trolley.  I guess we'd
+hardly of got up anything as out o' date as a
+picnic in honor of Miss PRATT!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter seemed unimpressed.
+
+``It doesn't matter whether you call it a picnic
+or not, Willie.  It will be cool on the open trolley-
+car coming home, especially with only those white
+trousers on--''
+
+``Ye gods!'' he cried.  ``I've got other things
+on besides my trousers!  I wish you wouldn't
+always act as if I was a perfect child!  Good
+heavens! isn't a person my age supposed to know
+how much clothes to wear?''
+
+``Well, if he is,'' she returned, ``it's a mere
+supposition and not founded on fact.  Don't get so
+excited, Willie, please; but you'll either have to
+give up the picnic or come in and ch--''
+
+``Change my `things'!'' he wailed.  ``I can't
+change my `things'!  I've got just twenty minutes
+to get to May Parcher's--the crowd meets
+there, and they're goin' to take the trolley in
+front the Parchers' at exactly a quarter after
+'leven.  PLEASE don't keep me any longer, mother
+--I GOT to go!''
+
+She stepped into the hall and returned
+immediately.  ``Here's your overcoat, Willie.''
+
+His expression was of despair.  ``They'll think
+I'm a lunatic and they'll say so before everybody
+--and I don't blame 'em!  Overcoat on a hot day
+like this!  Except me, I don't suppose there was
+ever anybody lived in the world and got to be
+going on eighteen years old and had to carry his
+silly old overcoat around with him in August--
+because his mother made him!''
+
+``Willie,'' said Mrs. Baxter, ``you don't know
+how many thousands and thousands of mothers
+for thousands and thousands of years have kept
+their sons from taking thousands and thousands
+of colds--just this way!''
+
+He moaned.  ``Well, and I got to be called a
+lunatic just because you're nervous, I s'pose.  All
+right!''
+
+She hung it upon his arm, kissed him; and he
+departed in a desperate manner.
+
+However, having worn his tragic face for three
+blocks, he halted before a corner drug-store, and
+permitted his expression to improve as he gazed
+upon the window display of My Little Sweetheart
+All-Tobacco Cuban Cigarettes, the Package of
+Twenty for Ten Cents.  William was not a
+smoker--that is to say, he had made the usual
+boyhood experiments, finding them discouraging;
+and though at times he considered it humorously
+man-about-town to say to a smoking friend,
+``Well, _I_'ll tackle one o' your ole coffin-nails,'' he
+had never made a purchase of tobacco in his life. 
+But it struck him now that it would be rather
+debonair to disport himself with a package of
+Little Sweethearts upon the excursion.
+
+And the name!  It thrilled him inexpressibly,
+bringing a tenderness into his eyes and a glow
+into his bosom.  He felt that when he should
+smoke a Little Sweetheart it would be a tribute
+to the ineffable visitor for whom this party was
+being given--it would bring her closer to him. 
+His young brow grew almost stern with determination,
+for he made up his mind, on the spot,
+that he would smoke oftener in the future--he
+would become a confirmed smoker, and all his life
+he would smoke My Little Sweetheart All-Tobacco
+Cuban Cigarettes.
+
+He entered and managed to make his purchase
+in a matter-of-fact way, as if he were doing
+something quite unemotional; then he said to the
+clerk:
+
+``Oh, by the by--ah--''
+
+The clerk stared.  ``Well, what else?''
+
+``I mean,'' said William, hurriedly, ``there's
+something I wanted to 'tend to, now I happen to
+be here.  I was on my way to take this overcoat
+to--to get something altered at the tailor's for
+next winter.  'Course I wouldn't want it till
+winter, but I thought I might as well get it DONE.'' 
+He paused, laughing carelessly, for greater plaus-
+ibility.  ``I thought he'd prob'ly want lots of
+time on the job--he's a slow worker, I've noticed
+--and so I decided I might just as well go ahead
+and let him get at it.  Well, so I was on my way
+there, but I just noticed I only got about six
+minutes more to get to a mighty important
+engagement I got this morning, and I'd like to
+leave it here and come by and get it on my way
+home, this evening.''
+
+``Sure,'' said the clerk.  ``Hang it on that
+hook inside the p'scription-counter.  There's one
+there already, b'longs to your friend, that young
+Bullitt fella.  He was in here awhile ago and said
+he wanted to leave his because he didn't have
+time to take it to be pressed in time for next
+winter.  Then he went on and joined that crowd
+in Mr. Parcher's yard, around the corner, that's
+goin' on a trolley-party.  I says, `I betcher mother
+maje carry it,' and he says, `Oh no.  Oh no,'
+he says.  `Honest, I was goin' to get it pressed!' 
+You can hang yours on the same nail.''
+
+The clerk spoke no more, and went to serve
+another customer, while William stared after him
+a little uneasily.  It seemed that here was a man
+of suspicious nature, though, of course, Joe
+Bullitt's shallow talk about getting an overcoat
+pressed before winter would not have imposed
+upon anybody.  However, William felt strongly
+that the private life of the customers of a store
+should not be pried into and speculated about by
+employees, and he was conscious of a distaste
+for this clerk.
+
+Nevertheless, it was with a lighter heart that
+he left his overcoat behind him and stepped out
+of the side door of the drug-store.  That brought
+him within sight of the gaily dressed young
+people, about thirty in number, gathered upon
+the small lawn beside Mr. Parcher's house.
+
+Miss Pratt stood among them, in heliotrope
+and white, Flopit nestling in her arms.  She was
+encircled by girls who were enthusiastically
+caressing the bored and blinking Flopit; and when
+William beheld this charming group, his breath
+became eccentric, his knee-caps became cold and
+convulsive, his neck became hot, and he broke
+into a light perspiration.
+
+She saw him!  The small blonde head and the
+delirious little fluffy hat above it shimmered a
+nod to him.  Then his mouth fell unconsciously
+open, and his eyes grew glassy with the intensity
+of meaning he put into the silent response he sent
+across the picket fence and through the interstices
+of the intervening group.  Pressing with his
+elbow upon the package of cigarettes in his pocket,
+he murmured, inaudibly, ``My Little Sweetheart,
+always for you!''--a repetition of his vow that,
+come what might, he would forever remain a
+loyal smoker of that symbolic brand.  In fact,
+William's mental condition had never shown one
+moment's turn for the better since the fateful
+day of the distracting visitor's arrival.
+
+Mr. Johnnie Watson and Mr. Joe Bullitt met
+him at the gate and offered him hearty greeting. 
+All bickering and dissension among these three
+had passed.  The lady was so wondrous impartial
+that, as time went on, the sufferers had come
+to be drawn together, rather than thrust asunder,
+by their common feeling.  It had grown to be a
+bond uniting them; they were not so much rivals
+as ardent novices serving a single altar, each
+worshiping there without visible gain over the
+other.  Each had even come to possess, in the
+eyes of his two fellows, almost a sacredness as a
+sharer in the celestial glamor; they were tender
+one with another.  They were in the last stages.
+
+Johnnie Watson had with him to-day a visitor
+of his own--a vastly overgrown person of eighteen,
+who, at Johnnie's beckoning, abandoned a
+fair companion of the moment and came forward
+as William entered the gate.
+
+``I want to intradooce you to two of my most
+int'mut friends, George,'' said Johnnie, with the
+anxious gravity of a person about to do something
+important and unfamiliar.  ``Mr. Baxter, let me
+intradooce my cousin, Mr.Crooper.  Mr.Crooper,
+this is my friend, Mr. Baxter.''
+
+The gentlemen shook hands solemnly, saying,
+
+``'M very glad to meet you,'' and Johnnie turned
+to Joe Bullitt.  ``Mr. Croo--I mean, Mr. Bullitt,
+let me intradooce my friend, Mr. Crooper--I
+mean my cousin, Mr. Crooper.  Mr. Crooper is a
+cousin of mine.''
+
+``Glad to make your acquaintance, Mr.
+Crooper,'' said Joe.  ``I suppose you're a cousin
+of Johnnie's, then?''
+
+``Yep,'' said Mr. Crooper, becoming more
+informal.  ``Johnnie wrote me to come over for
+this shindig, so I thought I might as well come.'' 
+He laughed loudly, and the others laughed with
+the same heartiness.  ``Yessir,'' he added, ``I
+thought I might as well come, 'cause I'm pretty
+apt to be on hand if there's anything doin'!''
+
+``Well, that's right,'' said William, and while
+they all laughed again, Mr. Crooper struck his
+cousin a jovial blow upon the back.
+
+``Hi, ole sport!'' he cried, ``I want to meet that
+Miss Pratt before we start.  The car'll be along
+pretty soon, and I got her picked for the girl I'm
+goin' to sit by.''
+
+The laughter of William and Joe Bullitt,
+designed to express cordiality, suddenly became
+flaccid and died.  If Mr. Crooper had been a
+sensitive person he might have perceived the chilling
+disapproval in their glances, for they had just
+begun to be most unfavorably impressed with
+him.  The careless loudness--almost the 
+notoriety--with which he had uttered Miss Pratt's
+name, demanding loosely to be presented to her,
+regardless of the well-known law that a lady must
+first express some wish in such matters--these
+were indications of a coarse nature sure to be more
+than uncongenial to Miss Pratt.  Its presence
+might make the whole occasion distasteful to her
+--might spoil her day.  Both William and Joe
+Bullitt began to wonder why on earth Johnnie
+Watson didn't have any more sense than to
+invite such a big, fat lummox of a cousin to the
+party.
+
+This severe phrase of theirs, almost simultaneous
+in the two minds, was not wholly a failure as
+a thumb-nail sketch of Mr. George Crooper. 
+And yet there was the impressiveness of size
+about him, especially about his legs and chin. 
+At seventeen and eighteen growth is still going
+on, sometimes in a sporadic way, several parts
+seeming to have sprouted faster than others. 
+Often the features have not quite settled down
+together in harmony, a mouth, for instance,
+appearing to have gained such a lead over the rest
+of a face, that even a mother may fear it can
+never be overtaken.  Voices, too, often seem
+misplaced; one hears, outside the door, the bass
+rumble of a sinister giant, and a mild boy, thin
+as a cricket, walks in.  The contrary was George
+Crooper's case; his voice was an unexpected
+piping tenor, half falsetto and frequently girlish
+--as surprising as the absurd voice of an elephant.
+
+He had the general outwardness of a vast and
+lumpy child.  His chin had so distanced his other
+features that his eyes, nose, and brow seemed
+almost baby-like in comparison, while his mountainous
+legs were the great part of the rest of
+him.  He was one of those huge, bottle-shaped
+boys who are always in motion in spite of their
+cumbersomeness.  His gestures were continuous,
+though difficult to interpret as bearing upon the
+subject of his equally continuous conversation;
+and under all circumstances he kept his conspicuous
+legs incessantly moving, whether he was
+going anywhere or remaining in comparatively
+one spot.
+
+His expression was pathetically offensive, the
+result of his bland confidence in the audible
+opinions of a small town whereof his father was
+the richest inhabitant--and the one thing about
+him, even more obvious than his chin, his legs,
+and his spectacular taste in flannels, was his
+perfect trust that he was as welcome to every one
+as he was to his mother.  This might some day
+lead him in the direction of great pain, but on
+the occasion of the ``subscription party'' for Miss
+Pratt it gave him an advantage.
+
+``When do I get to meet that cutie?'' he
+insisted, as Johnnie Watson moved backward from
+the cousinly arm, which threatened further flailing. 
+``You intradooced me to about seven I
+can't do much FOR, but I want to get the howdy
+business over with this Miss Pratt, so I and she
+can get things started.  I'm goin' to keep her
+busy all day!''
+
+``Well, don't be in such a hurry,'' said Johnnie,
+uneasily.  ``You can meet her when we get out
+in the country--if I get a chance, George.''
+
+``No, sir!'' George protested, jovially.  ``I
+guess you're sad birds over in this town, but look
+out!  When I hit a town it don't take long till
+they all hear there's something doin'!  You know
+how I am when I get started, Johnnie!''  Here
+he turned upon William, tucking his fat arm
+affectionately through William's thin one.  ``Hi,
+sport!  Ole Johnnie's so slow, YOU toddle me over
+and get me fixed up with this Miss Pratt, and
+I'll tell her you're the real stuff--after we get
+engaged!''
+
+He was evidently a true cloud-compeller, this
+horrible George.
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+``I DUNNO WHY IT IS''
+
+William extricated his arm, huskily muttering
+words which were lost in the general
+outcry, ``Car's coming!''  The young people
+poured out through the gate, and, as the car
+stopped, scrambled aboard.  For a moment
+everything was hurried and confused.  William
+struggled anxiously to push through to Miss
+Pratt and climb up beside her, but Mr. George
+Crooper made his way into the crowd in a beaming,
+though bull-like manner, and a fat back in
+a purple-and-white ``blazer'' flattened William's
+nose, while ponderous heels damaged William's
+toes; he was shoved back, and just managed to
+clamber upon the foot-board as the car started. 
+The friendly hand of Joe Bullitt pulled him to a
+seat, and William found himself rubbing his nose
+and sitting between Joe and Johnnie Watson,
+directly behind the dashing Crooper and Miss
+Pratt.  Mr. Crooper had already taken Flopit
+upon his lap.
+
+``Dogs are always crazy 'bout me,'' they heard
+him say, for his high voice was but too audible
+over all other sounds.  ``Dogs and chuldren.  I
+dunno why it is, but they always take to me. 
+My name's George Crooper, Third, Johnnie Watson's
+cousin.  He was tryin' to intradooce me
+before the car came along, but he never got the
+chance.  I guess as this shindig's for you, and I'm
+the only other guest from out o' town, we'll have
+to intradooce ourselves--the two guests of honor,
+as it were.''
+
+Miss Pratt laughed her silvery laugh, murmured
+politely, and turned no freezing glance
+upon her neighbor.  Indeed, it seemed that she
+was far from regarding him with the distaste
+anticipated by William and Joe Bullitt.  ``Flopit
+look so toot an' tunnin','' she was heard to
+remark.  ``Flopit look so 'ittle on dray, big,
+'normous man's lap.''
+
+Mr. Crooper laughed deprecatingly.  ``He does
+look kind of small compared with the good ole
+man that's got charge of him, now!  Well, I
+always was a good deal bigger than the fellas I
+went with.  I dunno why it is, but I was always
+kind of quicker, too, as it were--and the strongest
+in any crowd I ever got with.  I'm kind of muscle-
+bound, I guess, but I don't let that interfere with
+my quickness any.  Take me in an automobile,
+now--I got a racin'-car at home--and I keep my
+head better than most people do, as it were.  I
+can kind of handle myself better; I dunno why
+it is.  My brains seem to work better than other
+people's, that's all it is.  I don't mean that I
+got more sense, or anything like that; it's just
+the way my brains work; they kind of put me
+at an advantage, as it were.  Well, f'rinstance,
+if I'd been livin' here in this town and joined in
+with the crowd to get up this party, well, it
+would of been done a good deal diff'rent.  I won't
+say better, but diff'rent.  That's always the way
+with me if I go into anything, pretty soon I'm
+running the whole shebang; I dunno why it is. 
+The other people might try to run it their way
+for a while, but pretty soon you notice 'em beginning
+to step out of the way for good ole George. 
+I dunno why it is, but that's the way it goes. 
+Well, if I'd been running THIS party I'd of had
+automobiles to go out in, not a trolley-car where
+you all got to sit together--and I'd of sent over
+home for my little racer and I'd of taken you
+out in her myself.  I wish I'd of sent for it,
+anyway.  We could of let the rest go out in the
+trolley, and you and I could of got off by ourselves:
+I'd like you to see that little car.  Well,
+anyway, I bet you'd of seen something pretty
+different and a whole lot better if I'd of come
+over to this town in time to get up this party
+for you!''
+
+``For US,'' Miss Pratt corrected him, sunnily.
+
+``Bofe strangers--party for us two--all bofe!'' 
+And she gave him one of her looks.
+
+Mr. Crooper flushed with emotion; he was
+annexed; he became serious.  ``Say,'' he said,
+``that's a mighty smooth hat you got on.''  And
+he touched the fluffy rim of it with his forefinger. 
+His fat shoulders leaned toward her yearningly.
+
+``We'd cert'nly of had a lot better time sizzin'
+along in that little racer I got,'' he said.  ``I'd
+like to had you see how I handle that little car. 
+Girls over home, they say they like to go out
+with me just to watch the way I handle her;
+they say it ain't so much just the ride, but more
+the way I handle that little car.  I dunno why
+it is, but that's what they say.  That's the way
+I do anything I make up my mind to tackle,
+though.  I don't try to tackle everything--there's
+lots o' things I wouldn't take enough interest in
+'em, as it were--but just lemme make up my
+mind once, and it's all off; I dunno why it is. 
+There was a brakeman on the train got kind of
+fresh: he didn't know who I was.  Well, I just
+put my hand on his shoulder and pushed him
+down in his seat like this''--he set his hand upon
+Miss Pratt's shoulder.  ``I didn't want to hit
+him, because there was women and chuldren in
+the car, so I just shoved my face up close to
+him, like this.  `I guess you don't know how
+much stock my father's got in this road,' I says. 
+Did he wilt?  Well, you ought of seen that brakeman
+when I got through tellin' him who I was!''
+
+``Nassy ole brateman!'' said Miss Pratt, with
+unfailing sympathy.
+
+Mr. Crooper's fat hand, as if unconsciously,
+gave Miss Pratt's delicate shoulder a little pat
+in reluctant withdrawal.  ``Well, that's the way
+with me,'' he said.  ``Much as I been around this
+world, nobody ever tried to put anything over on
+me and got away with it.  They always come
+out the little end o' the horn; I dunno why it is. 
+Say, that's a mighty smooth locket you got on
+the end o' that chain, there.''  And again stretching
+forth his hand, in a proprietor-like way, he
+began to examine the locket.
+
+Three hot hearts, just behind, pulsated hatred
+toward him; for Johnnie Watson had perceived
+his error, and his sentiments were now linked to
+those of Joe Bullitt and William.  The unhappiness
+of these three helpless spectators was the
+more poignant because not only were they
+witnesses of the impression of greatness which
+George Crooper was obviously producing upon
+Miss Pratt, but they were unable to prevent
+themselves from being likewise impressed.
+
+They were not analytical; they dumbly
+accepted George at his own rating, not even being
+able to charge him with lack of modesty.  Did
+he not always accompany his testimonials to
+himself with his deprecating falsetto laugh and
+``I dunno why it is,'' an official disclaimer of
+merit, ``as it were''?  Here was a formidable
+candidate, indeed--a traveler, a man of the world,
+with brains better and quicker than other people's
+brains; an athlete, yet knightly--he would not
+destroy even a brakeman in the presence of
+women and children--and, finally, most enviable
+and deadly, the owner and operator of a ``little
+racer''!  All this glitter was not far short of
+overpowering; and yet, though accepting it as
+fact, the woeful three shared the inconsistent
+belief that in spite of everything George was
+nothing but a big, fat lummox.  For thus they
+even rather loudly whispered of him--almost as
+if hopeful that Miss Pratt, and mayhap George
+himself, might overhear.
+
+Impotent their seething!  The overwhelming
+Crooper pursued his conquering way.  He leaned
+more and more toward the magnetic girl, his
+growing tenderness having that effect upon him,
+and his head inclining so far that his bedewed
+brow now and then touched the fluffy hat.  He
+was constitutionally restless, but his movements
+never ended by placing a greater distance
+between himself and Miss Pratt, though they
+sometimes discommoded Miss Parcher, who sat at
+the other side of him--a side of him which
+appeared to be without consciousness.  He played
+naively with Miss Pratt's locket and with the
+filmy border of her collar; he flicked his nose for
+some time with her little handkerchief, loudly
+sniffing its scent; and finally he became interested
+in a ring she wore, removed it, and tried
+unsuccessfully to place it upon one of his own
+fingers.
+
+``I've worn lots o' girls' rings on my watch-fob. 
+I'd let 'em wear mine on a chain or something. 
+I guess they like to do that with me,'' he said. 
+``I dunno why it is.''
+
+At this subtle hint the three unfortunates held
+their breath, and then lost it as the lovely girl
+acquiesced in the horrible exchange.  As for
+William, life was of no more use to him.  Out of
+the blue heaven of that bright morning's promise
+had fallen a pall, draping his soul in black and
+purple.  He had been horror-stricken when first
+the pudgy finger of George Crooper had touched
+the fluffy edge of that sacred little hat; then,
+during George's subsequent pawings and leanings,
+William felt that he must either rise and murder
+or go mad.  But when the exchange of rings was
+accomplished, his spirit broke and even resentment
+oozed away.  For a time there was no room
+in him for anything except misery.
+
+Dully, William's eyes watched the fat shoulders
+hitching and twitching, while the heavy arms
+flourished in gesture and in further pawings. 
+Again and again were William's ears afflicted
+with, ``I dunno why it is,'' following upon tribute
+after tribute paid by Mr. Crooper to himself, and
+received with little cries of admiration and sweet
+child-words on the part of Miss Pratt.  It was a
+long and accursed ride.
+
+
+
+XX
+
+SYDNEY CARTON
+
+At the farm-house where the party were to dine,
+Miss Pratt with joy discovered a harmonium
+in the parlor, and, seating herself, with all the
+girls, Flopit, and Mr. George Crooper gathered
+around her, she played an accompaniment, while
+George, in a thin tenor of detestable sweetness,
+sang ``I'm Falling in Love with Some One.''
+
+His performance was rapturously greeted,
+especially by the accompanist.  ``Oh, wunnerfulest
+Untle Georgiecums!'' she cried, for that was now
+the gentleman's name.  ``If Johnnie McCormack
+hear Untle Georgiecums he go shoot umself dead--
+Bang!''  She looked round to where three figures
+hovered morosely in the rear.  ``Tum on, sin'
+chorus, Big Bruvva Josie-Joe, Johnny Jump-up,
+an' Ickle Boy Baxter.  All over adain, Untle
+Georgiecums!  Boys an' dirls all sin' chorus.
+Tummence!''
+
+And so the heartrending performance continued
+until it was stopped by Wallace Banks, the
+altruistic and perspiring youth who had charge
+of the subscription-list for the party, and the
+consequent collection of assessments.  This
+entitled Wallace to look haggard and to act as
+master of ceremonies.  He mounted a chair.
+
+``Ladies and gentlemen,'' he bellowed, ``I want
+to say--that is--ah--I am requested to announce t
+that before dinner we're all supposed to take a
+walk around the farm and look at things, as this
+is supposed to be kind of a model farm or
+supposed to be something like that.  There's a
+Swedish lady named Anna going to show us
+around.  She's out in the yard waiting, so please
+follow her to inspect the farm.''
+
+To inspect a farm was probably the least of
+William's desires.  He wished only to die in some
+quiet spot and to have Miss Pratt told about it in
+words that would show her what she had thrown
+away.  But he followed with the others, in the
+wake of the Swedish lady named Anna, and as
+they stood in the cavernous hollow of the great
+barn he found his condition suddenly improved.
+
+Miss Pratt turned to him unexpectedly and
+placed Flopit in his arms.  ``Keep p'eshus Flopit
+cozy,'' she whispered.  ``Flopit love ole friends
+best!''
+
+William's heart leaped, while a joyous warmth
+spread all over him.  And though the execrable
+lummox immediately propelled Miss Pratt forward--
+by her elbow--to hear the descriptive
+remarks of the Swedish lady named Anna, William's
+soul remained uplifted and entranced.  She
+had not said ``like''; she had said, ``Flopit LOVE
+ole friends best''!  William pressed forward valiantly,
+and placed himself as close as possible
+upon the right of Miss Pratt, the lummox being
+upon her left.  A moment later, William wished
+that he had remained in the rear.
+
+This was due to the unnecessary frankness of
+the Swedish lady named Anna, who was briefly
+pointing out the efficiency of various agricultural
+devices.  Her attention being diverted by some
+effusions of pride on the part of a passing hen,
+she thought fit to laugh and say:
+
+``She yust laid egg.''
+
+William shuddered.  This grossness in the presence
+of Miss Pratt was unthinkable.  His mind
+refused to deal with so impossible a situation; he
+could not accept it as a fact that such words had
+actually been uttered in such a presence.  And
+yet it was the truth; his incredulous ears still
+sizzled.  ``She yust laid egg!''  His entire skin
+became flushed; his averted eyes glazed themselves
+with shame.
+
+He was not the only person shocked by the
+ribaldry of the Swedish lady named Anna.  Joe
+Bullitt and Johnnie Watson, on the outskirts of
+the group, went to Wallace Banks, drew him
+aside, and, with feverish eloquence, set his 
+responsibilities before him.  It was his duty, they
+urged, to have an immediate interview with this
+free-spoken Anna and instruct her in the proprieties. 
+Wallace had been almost as horrified as
+they by her loose remark, but he declined the
+office they proposed for him, offering, however,
+to appoint them as a committee with authority
+in the matter--whereupon they retorted with
+unreasonable indignation, demanding to know
+what he took them for.
+
+Unconscious of the embarrassment she had
+caused in these several masculine minds, the
+Swedish lady named Anna led the party onward,
+continuing her agricultural lecture.  William
+walked mechanically, his eyes averted and looking
+at no one.  And throughout this agony he
+was burningly conscious of the blasphemed
+presence of Miss Pratt beside him.
+
+Therefore, it was with no little surprise, when
+the party came out of the barn, that William
+beheld Miss Pratt, not walking at his side, but
+on the contrary, sitting too cozily with George
+Crooper upon a fallen tree at the edge of a peach-
+orchard just beyond the barn-yard.  It was Miss
+Parcher who had been walking beside him, for
+the truant couple had made their escape at the
+beginning of the Swedish lady's discourse.
+
+In vain William murmured to himself, ``Flopit
+love ole friends best.''  Purple and black again
+descended upon his soul, for he could not disguise
+from himself the damnatory fact that George
+had flitted with the lady, while he, wretched William,
+had been permitted to take care of the dog!
+
+A spark of dignity still burned within him.  He
+strode to the barn-yard fence, and, leaning over it,
+dropped Flopit rather brusquely at his mistress's
+feet.  Then, without a word even without a look
+--William walked haughtily away, continuing his
+stern progress straight through the barn-yard
+gate, and thence onward until he found himself
+in solitude upon the far side of a smoke-house,
+where his hauteur vanished.
+
+Here, in the shade of a great walnut-tree which
+sheltered the little building, he gave way--not to
+tears, certainly, but to faint murmurings and
+little heavings under impulses as ancient as young
+love itself.  It is to be supposed that William
+considered his condition a lonely one, but if all the
+seventeen-year-olds who have known such half-
+hours could have shown themselves to him then,
+he would have fled from the mere horror of
+billions.  Alas! he considered his sufferings a new
+invention in the world, and there was now inspired
+in his breast a monologue so eloquently bitter
+that it might deserve some such title as A Passion
+Beside the Smoke-house.  During the little time
+that William spent in this sequestration he
+passed through phases of emotion which would
+have kept an older man busy for weeks and left
+him wrecked at the end of them.
+
+William's final mood was one of beautiful
+resignation with a kick in it; that is, he nobly gave
+her up to George and added irresistibly that
+George was a big, fat lummox!  Painting pictures,
+such as the billions of other young sufferers
+before him have painted, William saw
+himself a sad, gentle old bachelor at the family
+fireside, sometimes making the sacrifice of his
+reputation so that SHE and the children might
+never know the truth about George; and he gave
+himself the solace of a fierce scene or two with
+George:  ``Remember, it is for them, not you--
+you THING!''
+
+After this human little reaction he passed to
+a higher field of romance.  He would die for
+George and then she would bring the little boy
+she had named William to the lonely headstone--
+Suddenly William saw himself in his true and
+fitting character--Sydney Carton!  He had
+lately read A Tale of Two Cities, immediately
+re-reading until, as he would have said, he ``knew
+it by heart''; and even at the time he had seen
+resemblances between himself and the appealing
+figure of Carton.  Now that the sympathy between
+them was perfected by Miss Pratt's preference
+for another, William decided to mount the
+scaffold in place of George Crooper.  The scene
+became actual to him, and, setting one foot upon
+a tin milk-pail which some one had carelessly
+left beside the smoke-house, he lifted his eyes to
+the pitiless blue sky and unconsciously assumed
+the familiar attitude of Carton on the steps of
+the guillotine.  He spoke aloud those great last
+words:
+
+``It is a far, far better thing that I do, than
+I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that
+I go to--''
+
+A whiskered head on the end of a long,
+corrugated red neck protruded from the smoke-
+house door.
+
+``What say?'' it inquired, huskily.
+
+``Nun-nothing!'' stammered William.
+
+Eyes above whiskers became fierce.  ``You
+take your feet off that milk-bucket.  Say!  This
+here's a sanitary farm.  'Ain't you got any more
+sense 'n to go an'--''
+
+But William had abruptly removed his foot
+and departed.
+
+He found the party noisily established in the
+farm-house at two long tables piled with bucolic
+viands already being violently depleted.  Johnnie
+Watson had kept a chair beside himself vacant for
+William.  Johnnie was in no frame of mind to sit
+beside any ``chattering girl,'' and he had
+protected himself by Joe Bullitt upon his right and
+the empty seat upon his left.  William took it,
+and gazed upon the nearer foods with a slight
+renewal of animation.
+
+He began to eat; he continued to eat; in fact,
+he did well.  So did his two comrades.  Not that
+the melancholy of these three was dispersed--
+far from it!  With ineffaceable gloom they ate
+chicken, both white meat and dark, drumsticks,
+wishbones, and livers; they ate corn-on-the-cob,
+many ears, and fried potatoes and green peas
+and string-beans; they ate peach preserves and
+apricot preserves and preserved pears; they ate
+biscuits with grape jelly and biscuits with crab-
+apple jelly; they ate apple sauce and apple butter
+and apple pie.  They ate pickles, both cucumber
+pickles and pickles made of watermelon rind;
+they ate pickled tomatoes, pickled peppers, also
+pickled onions.  They ate lemon pie.
+
+At that, they were no rivals to George Crooper,
+who was a real eater.  Love had not made his
+appetite ethereal to-day, and even the attending
+Swedish lady named Anna felt some apprehension
+when it came to George and the gravy,
+though she was accustomed to the prodigies
+performed in this line by the robust hands on the
+farm.  George laid waste his section of the
+table, and from the beginning he allowed himself
+scarce time to say, ``I dunno why it is.''  The
+pretty companion at his side at first gazed
+dumfounded; then, with growing enthusiasm for
+what promised to be a really magnificent
+performance, she began to utter little ejaculations of
+wonder and admiration.  With this music in his
+ears, George outdid himself.  He could not resist
+the temptation to be more and more astonishing
+as a heroic comedian, for these humors sometimes
+come upon vain people at country dinners.
+
+George ate when he had eaten more than he
+needed; he ate long after every one understood
+why he was so vast; he ate on and on sheerly
+as a flourish--as a spectacle.  He ate even
+when he himself began to understand that there
+was daring in what he did, for his was a toreador
+spirit so long as he could keep bright eyes fastened
+upon him.
+
+Finally, he ate to decide wagers made upon his
+gorging, though at times during this last period
+his joviality deserted him.  Anon his damp brow
+would be troubled, and he knew moments of
+thoughtfulness.
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+MY LITTLE SWEETHEARTS
+
+When George did stop, it was abruptly,
+during one of these intervals of sobriety,
+and he and Miss Pratt came out of the
+house together rather quietly, joining one of the
+groups of young people chatting with after-
+dinner languor under the trees.  However, Mr.
+Crooper began to revive presently, in the sweet
+air of outdoors, and, observing some of the more
+flashing gentlemen lighting cigarettes, he was
+moved to laughter.  He had not smoked since
+his childhood--having then been bonded through
+to twenty-one with a pledge of gold--and he
+feared that these smoking youths might feel
+themselves superior.  Worse, Miss Pratt might be
+impressed, therefore he laughed in scorn, saying:
+
+``Burnin' up ole trash around here, I expect!''
+He sniffed searchingly.  ``Somebody's set some
+ole rags on fire.''  Then, as in discovery, he
+cried, ``Oh no, only cigarettes!''
+
+Miss Pratt, that tactful girl, counted four
+smokers in the group about her, and only one
+abstainer, George.  She at once defended the
+smokers, for it is to be feared that numbers
+always had weight with her.  ``Oh, but cigarettes
+is lubly smell!'' she said.  ``Untle Georgiecums
+maybe be too 'ittle boy for smokings!''
+
+This archness was greeted loudly by the
+smokers, and Mr. Crooper was put upon his
+mettle.  He spoke too quickly to consider
+whether or no the facts justified his assertion. 
+``Me?  I don't smoke paper and ole carpets.  I
+smoke cigars!''
+
+He had created the right impression, for Miss
+Pratt clapped her hands.  ``Oh, 'plendid!  Light
+one, Untle Georgiecums!  Light one ever 'n' ever
+so quick!  P'eshus Flopit an' me we want see
+dray, big, 'normous man smoke dray, big,
+'normous cigar!''
+
+William and Johnnie Watson, who had been
+hovering morbidly, unable to resist the lodestone,
+came nearer, Johnnie being just in time to hear
+his cousin's reply.
+
+``I--I forgot my cigar-case.''
+
+Johnnie's expression became one of biting
+skepticism.  ``What you talkin' about, George? 
+Didn't you promise Uncle George you'd never
+smoke till you're of age, and Uncle George said
+he'd give you a thousand dollars on your twenty-
+first birthday?  What 'd you say about your
+`cigar-case'?''
+
+George felt that he was in a tight place, and
+the lovely eyes of Miss Pratt turned upon him
+questioningly.  He could not flush, for he was
+already so pink after his exploits with
+unnecessary nutriment that more pinkness was
+impossible.  He saw that the only safety for him
+lay in boisterous prevarication.  ``A thousand
+dollars!'' he laughed loudly.  ``I thought that
+was real money when I was ten years old!  It
+didn't stand in MY way very long, I guess!  Good
+ole George wanted his smoke, and he went after
+it!  You know how I am, Johnnie, when I go
+after anything.  I been smokin' cigars I dunno
+how long!''  Glancing about him, his eye became
+reassured; it was obvious that even Johnnie had
+accepted this airy statement as the truth, and to
+clinch plausibility he added:  ``When I smoke, I
+smoke!  I smoke cigars straight along--light one
+right on the stub of the other.  I only wish I had
+some with me, because I miss 'em after a meal. 
+I'd give a good deal for something to smoke
+right now!  I don't mean cigarettes; I don't
+want any paper--I want something that's all
+tobacco!''
+
+William's pale, sad face showed a hint of color. 
+With a pang he remembered the package of
+My Little Sweetheart All-Tobacco Cuban Cigarettes
+(the Package of Twenty for Ten Cents)
+which still reposed, untouched, in the breast
+pocket of his coat.  His eyes smarted a little
+as he recalled the thoughts and hopes that had
+accompanied the purchase; but he thought,
+``What would Sydney Carton do?''
+
+William brought forth the package of My
+Little Sweetheart All-Tobacco Cuban Cigarettes
+and placed it in the large hand of George Crooper. 
+And this was a noble act, for William believed
+that George really wished to smoke.  ``Here,'' he
+said, ``take these; they're all tobacco.  I'm
+goin' to quit smokin', anyway.''  And, thinking
+of the name, he added, gently, with a significance
+lost upon all his hearers, ``I'm sure you ought to
+have 'em instead of me.''
+
+Then he went away and sat alone upon the
+fence.
+
+``Light one, light one!'' cried Miss Pratt.
+``Ev'ybody mus' be happy, an' dray, big,
+'normous man tan't be happy 'less he have his
+all-tobatto smote.  Light it, light it!''
+
+George drew as deep a breath as his diaphragm,
+strangely oppressed since dinner, would permit,
+and then bravely lit a Little Sweetheart.  There
+must have been some valiant blood in him,
+for, as he exhaled the smoke, he covered a slight
+choking by exclaiming, loudly:  ``THAT'S good!
+That's the ole stuff!  That's what I was lookin'
+for!''
+
+Miss Pratt was entranced.  ``Oh, 'plendid!''
+she cried, watching him with fascinated eyes. 
+``Now take dray, big, 'normous puffs!  Take
+dray, big, 'NORMOUS puffs!''
+
+George took great, big, enormous puffs.
+
+She declared that she loved to watch men
+smoke, and William's heart, as he sat on the
+distant fence, was wrung and wrung again by the
+vision of her playful ecstasies.  But when he saw
+her holding what was left of the first Little
+Sweetheart for George to light a second at its
+expiring spark, he could not bear it.  He dropped
+from the fence and moped away to be out of sight
+once more.  This was his darkest hour.
+
+Studiously avoiding the vicinity of the smoke-
+house, he sought the little orchard where he had
+beheld her sitting with George; and there he sat
+himself in sorrowful reverie upon the selfsame
+fallen tree.  How long he remained there is
+uncertain, but he was roused by the sound of music
+which came from the lawn before the farm-
+house.  Bitterly he smiled, remembering that
+Wallace Banks had engaged Italians with harp,
+violin, and flute, promising great things for
+dancing on a fresh-clipped lawn--a turf floor
+being no impediment to seventeen's dancing. 
+Music!  To see her whirling and smiling sunnily
+in the fat grasp of that dancing bear!  He
+would stay in this lonely orchard; SHE would not
+miss him.
+
+But though he hated the throbbing music and
+the sound of the laughing voices that came to
+him, he could not keep away--and when he
+reached the lawn where the dancers were, he
+found Miss Pratt moving rhythmically in the thin
+grasp of Wallace Banks.  Johnnie Watson
+approached, and spoke in a low tone, tinged with
+spiteful triumph.
+
+``Well, anyway, ole fat George didn't get the
+first dance with her!  She's the guest of honor,
+and Wallace had a right to it because he did all
+the work.  He came up to 'em and ole fat
+George couldn't say a thing.  Wallace just took
+her right away from him.  George didn't say
+anything at all, but I s'pose after this dance he'll
+be rushin' around again and nobody else 'll have
+a chance to get near her the rest of the afternoon. 
+My mother told me I ought to invite him over
+here, out I had no business to do it; he don't
+know the first principles of how to act in a town
+he don't live in!''
+
+``Where'd he go?'' William asked, listlessly,
+for Mr. Crooper was nowhere in sight.
+
+``I don't know--he just walked off without
+sayin' anything.  But he'll be back, time this
+dance is over, never you fear, and he'll grab her
+again and--  What's the matter with Joe?''
+
+Joseph Bullitt had made his appearance at a
+corner of the house, some distance from where
+they stood.  His face was alert under the impulse
+of strong excitement, and he beckoned fiercely. 
+``Come here!''  And, when they had obeyed,
+``He's around back of the house by a kind of
+shed,'' said Joe.  ``I think something's wrong. 
+Come on, I'll show him to you.''
+
+But behind the house, whither they followed
+him in vague, strange hope, he checked them. 
+``LOOK THERE!'' he said.
+
+His pointing finger was not needed.  Sounds
+of paroxysm drew their attention sufficiently--
+sounds most poignant, soul-rending, and
+lugubrious.  William and Johnnie perceived the
+large person of Mr. Crooper; he was seated upon
+the ground, his back propped obliquely against
+the smoke-house, though this attitude was not
+maintained constantly.
+
+Facing him, at a little distance, a rugged figure
+in homely garments stood leaning upon a hoe
+and regarding George with a cold interest. 
+The apex of this figure was a volcanic straw hat,
+triangular in profile and coned with an open
+crater emitting reddish wisps, while below the hat
+were several features, but more whiskers, at the
+top of a long, corrugated red neck of sterling
+worth.  A husky voice issued from the whiskers,
+addressing George.
+
+``I seen you!'' it said.  ``I seen you eatin'! 
+This here farm is supposed to be a sanitary farm,
+and you'd ought of knew better.  Go it, doggone
+you!  Go it!''
+
+George complied.  And three spectators,
+remaining aloof, but watching zealously, began
+to feel their lost faith in Providence returning
+into them; their faces brightened slowly, and
+without relapse.  It was a visible thing how the
+world became fairer and better in their eyes
+during that little while they stood there.  And
+William saw that his Little Sweethearts had been
+an inspired purchase, after all; they had
+delivered the final tap upon a tottering edifice. 
+George's deeds at dinner had unsettled, but
+Little Sweethearts had overthrown--and now
+there was awful work among the ruins, to an
+ironical accompaniment of music from the front
+yard, where people danced in heaven's sunshine!
+
+This accompaniment came to a stop, and
+Johnnie Watson jumped.  He seized each of his
+companions by a sleeve and spoke eagerly, his
+eyes glowing with a warm and brotherly light. 
+``Here!'' he cried.  ``We better get around there
+--this looks like it was goin' to last all afternoon. 
+Joe, you get the next dance with her, and just
+about time the music slows up you dance her
+around so you can stop right near where Bill
+will be standin', so Bill can get her quick for the
+dance after that.  Then, Bill, you do the same
+for me, and I'll do the same for Joe again, and
+then, Joe, you do it for Bill again, and then Bill
+for me--and so on.  If we go in right now and
+work together we can crowd the rest out, and
+there won't anybody else get to dance with her
+the whole day!  Come on quick!''
+
+United in purpose, the three ran lightly to the
+dancing-lawn, and Mr. Bullitt was successful,
+after a little debate, in obtaining the next dance
+with the lovely guest of the day.  ``I did promise
+big Untle Georgiecums,'' she said, looking about
+her.
+
+``Well, I don't think he'll come,'' said Joe. 
+``That is, I'm pretty sure he won't.''
+
+A shade fell upon the exquisite face.  ``No'ty. 
+Bruvva Josie-Joe!  The Men ALWAYS tum when
+Lola promises dances.  Mustn't be rude!''
+
+``Well--'' Joe began, when he was interrupted
+by the Swedish lady named Anna, who spoke
+to them from the steps of the house.  Of the
+merrymakers they were the nearest.
+
+``Dot pick fella,'' said Anna, ``dot one dot
+eats--we make him in a petroom.  He holler! 
+He tank he neet some halp.''
+
+``Does he want a doctor?'' Joe asked.
+
+``Doctor?  No!  He want make him in a
+amyoulance for hospital!''
+
+``I'll go look at him,'' Johnnie Watson
+volunteered, running up.  ``He's my cousin, and I
+guess I got to take the responsibility.''
+
+Miss Pratt paid the invalid the tribute of one
+faintly commiserating glance toward the house. 
+``Well,'' she said, ``if people would rather eat too
+much than dance!''  She meant ``dance with
+ME!'' though she thought it prettier not to say
+so.  ``Come on, Bruvva Josie-Joe!'' she cried,
+joyously.
+
+And a little later Johnnie Watson approached
+her where she stood with a restored and refulgent
+William, about to begin the succeeding dance. 
+Johnnie dropped into her hand a ring, receiving
+one in return.  ``I thought I better GET it,'' he
+said, offering no further explanation.  ``I'll take
+care of his until we get home.  He's all right,''
+said Johnnie, and then perceiving a sudden
+advent of apprehension upon the sensitive brow
+of William, he went on reassuringly:  ``He's
+doin' as well as anybody could expect; that is--
+after the crazy way he DID!  He's always been
+considered the dumbest one in all our relations--
+never did know how to act.  I don't mean he's
+exactly not got his senses, or ought to be watched,
+anything like that--and of course he belongs to
+an awful good family--but he's just kind of the
+black sheep when it comes to intelligence, or
+anything like that.  I got him as comfortable as a
+person could be, and they're givin' him hot water
+and mustard and stuff, but what he needs now is
+just to be kind of quiet.  It'll do him a lot o'
+good,'' Johnnie concluded, with a spark in his
+voice, ``to lay there the rest of the afternoon and
+get quieted down, kind of.''
+
+``You don't think there's any--'' William
+began, and, after a pause, continued--``any hope
+--of his getting strong enough to come out and
+dance afterwhile?''
+
+Johnnie shook his head.  ``None in the
+world!'' he said, conclusively.  ``The best we can
+do for him is to let him entirely alone till after
+supper, and then ask nobody to sit on the back
+seat of the trolley-car goin' home, so we can
+make him comfortable back there, and let him
+kind of stretch out by himself.''
+
+Then gaily tinkled harp, gaily sang flute and
+violin!  Over the greensward William lightly
+bore his lady, while radiant was the cleared sky
+above the happy dancers.  William's fingers
+touched those delicate fingers; the exquisite
+face smiled rosily up to him; undreamable sweetness
+beat rhythmically upon his glowing ears;
+his feet moved in a rhapsody of companionship
+with hers.  They danced and danced and danced!
+
+Then Joe danced with her, while William and
+Johnnie stood with hands upon each other's
+shoulders and watched, mayhap with longing,
+but without spite; then Johnnie danced with her
+while Joe and William watched--and then William
+danced with her again.
+
+So passed the long, ineffable afternoon away--
+ah, Seventeen!
+
+``. . . 'Jav a good time at the trolley-party?''
+the clerk in the corner drug-store inquired that
+evening.
+
+``Fine!'' said William, taking his overcoat
+from the hook where he had left it.
+
+``How j' like them Little Sweethearts I sold
+you?''
+
+``FINE!'' said William.
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+FORESHADOWINGS
+
+Now the last rose had blown; the dandelion
+globes were long since on the wind;
+gladioli and golden-glow and salvia were here;
+the season moved toward asters and the goldenrod. 
+This haloed summer still idled on its way,
+yet all the while sped quickly; like some languid
+lady in an elevator.
+
+There came a Sunday--very hot.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, having walked a scorched
+half-mile from church, drooped thankfully into
+wicker chairs upon their front porch, though
+Jane, who had accompanied them, immediately
+darted away, swinging her hat by its ribbon and
+skipping as lithesomely as if she had just come
+forth upon a cool morning.
+
+``I don't know how she does it!'' her father
+moaned, glancing after her and drying his forehead
+temporarily upon a handkerchief.  ``That
+would merely kill me dead, after walking in
+this heat.''
+
+Then, for a time, the two were content to sit
+in silence, nodding to occasional acquaintances
+who passed in the desultory after-church
+procession.  Mr. Baxter fanned himself with sporadic
+little bursts of energy which made his straw hat
+creak, and Mrs. Baxter sighed with the heat, and
+gently rocked her chair.
+
+But as a group of five young people passed
+along the other side of the street Mr. Baxter
+abruptly stopped fanning himself, and, following
+the direction of his gaze, Mrs. Baxter ceased to
+rock.  In half-completed attitudes they leaned
+slightly forward, sharing one of those pauses
+of parents who unexpectedly behold their offspring.
+
+``My soul!'' said William's father.  ``Hasn't
+that girl gone home YET?''
+
+``He looks pale to me,'' Mrs. Baxter murmured,
+absently.  ``I don't think he seems at all well,
+lately.''
+
+During seventeen years Mr. Baxter had gradually
+learned not to protest anxieties of this kind,
+unless he desired to argue with no prospect of
+ever getting a decision.  ``Hasn't she got any
+HOME?'' he demanded, testily.  ``Isn't she ever
+going to quit visiting the Parchers and let people
+have a little peace?''
+
+Mrs. Baxter disregarded this outburst as he
+had disregarded her remark about William's
+pallor.  ``You mean Miss Pratt?'' she inquired,
+dreamily, her eyes following the progress of her
+son.  ``No, he really doesn't look well at all.''
+
+``Is she going to visit the Parchers all summer?''
+Mr. Baxter insisted.
+
+``She already has, about,'' said Mrs. Baxter.
+
+``Look at that boy!'' the father grumbled. 
+``Mooning along with those other moon-calves--
+can't even let her go to church alone!  I wonder
+how many weeks of time, counting it out in
+hours, he's wasted that way this summer?''
+
+``Oh, I don't know!  You see, he never goes
+there in the evening.''
+
+``What of that?  He's there all day, isn't he? 
+What do they find to talk about?  That's the
+mystery to me!  Day after day; hours and hours--
+My soul!  What do they SAY?''
+
+Mrs. Baxter laughed indulgently.  ``People are
+always wondering that about the other ages. 
+Poor Willie!  I think that a great deal of the
+time their conversation would be probably about
+as inconsequent as it is now.  You see Willie
+and Joe Bullitt are walking one on each side of
+Miss Pratt, and Johnnie Watson has to walk
+behind with May Parcher.  Joe and Johnnie are
+there about as much as Willie is, and, of course,
+it's often his turn to be nice to May Parcher.  He
+hasn't many chances to be tete-a-tete with Miss
+Pratt.''
+
+``Well, she ought to go home.  I want that boy
+to get back into his senses.  He's in an awful
+state.''
+
+``I think she is going soon,'' said Mrs. Baxter. 
+``The Parchers are to have a dance for her
+Friday night, and I understand there's to be a
+floor laid in the yard and great things.  It's a
+farewell party.''
+
+``That's one mercy, anyhow!''
+
+``And if you wonder what they say,'' she
+resumed, ``why, probably they're all talking
+about the party.  And when Willie IS alone with
+her--well, what does anybody say?'' Mrs. Baxter
+interrupted herself to laugh.  ``Jane, for
+instance--she's always fascinated by that darky,
+Genesis, when he's at work here in the yard, and
+they have long, long talks; I've seen them from
+the window.  What on earth do you suppose
+they talk about?  That's where Jane is now. 
+She knew I told Genesis I'd give him something
+if he'd come and freeze the ice-cream for us to-
+day, and when we got here she heard the freezer
+and hopped right around there.  If you went out
+to the back porch you'd find them talking
+steadily--but what on earth about I couldn't
+guess to save my life!''
+
+And yet nothing could have been simpler: as
+a matter of fact, Jane and Genesis (attended by
+Clematis) were talking about society.  That is to
+say, their discourse was not sociologic; rather it
+was of the frivolous and elegant.  Watteau
+prevailed with them over John Stuart Mill--in a
+word, they spoke of the beau monde.
+
+Genesis turned the handle of the freezer with
+his left hand, allowing his right the freedom of
+gesture which was an intermittent necessity when
+he talked.  In the matter of dress, Genesis had
+always been among the most informal of his race,
+but to-day there was a change almost unnerving
+to the Caucasian eye.  He wore a balloonish suit
+of purple, strangely scalloped at pocket and cuff,
+and more strangely decorated with lines of small
+parasite buttons, in color blue, obviously buttons
+of leisure.  His bulbous new shoes flashed back
+yellow fire at the embarrassed sun, and his collar
+(for he had gone so far) sent forth other sparkles,
+playing upon a polished surface over an inner
+graining of soot.  Beneath it hung a simple,
+white, soiled evening tie, draped in a manner
+unintended by its manufacturer, and heavily
+overburdened by a green glass medallion of the
+Emperor Tiberius, set in brass.
+
+``Yesm,'' said Genesis.  ``Now I'm in 'at
+Swim--flyin' roun' ev'y night wif all lem blue-
+vein people--I say, `Mus' go buy me some
+blue-vein clo'es! Ef I'm go'n' a START, might's
+well start HIGH!'  So firs', I buy me thishere gol'
+necktie pin wi' thishere lady's face carved out o'
+green di'mon', sittin' in the middle all 'at gol'. 
+'Nen I buy me pair Royal King shoes.  I got a
+frien' o' mine, thishere Blooie Bowers; he say
+Royal King shoes same kine o' shoes HE wear, an'
+I walk straight in 'at sto' where they keep 'em
+at.  `Don' was'e my time showin' me no ole-
+time shoes,' I say.  `Run out some them big,
+yella, lump-toed Royal Kings befo' my eyes, an'
+firs' pair fit me I pay price, an' wear 'em right
+off on me!'  'Nen I got me thishere suit o' clo'es
+--OH, oh!  Sign on 'em in window:  `Ef you wish
+to be bes'-dress' man in town take me home fer
+six dolluhs ninety-sevum cents.'  ` 'At's kine o'
+suit Genesis need,' I say.  `Ef Genesis go'n' a
+start dressin' high, might's well start top!' ''
+
+Jane nodded gravely, comprehending the
+reasonableness of this view.  ``What made you
+decide to start, Genesis?'' she asked, earnestly.  ``I
+mean, how did it happen you began to get
+this way?''
+
+``Well, suh, 'tall come 'bout right like kine
+o' slidin' into it 'stid o' hoppin' an' jumpin'.  I'z
+spen' the even' at 'at lady's house, Fanny, what
+cook nex' do', las' year.  Well, suh, 'at lady
+Fanny, she quit privut cookin', she kaytliss--''
+
+``She's what?'' Jane asked.  ``What's that
+mean, Genesis--kaytliss?''
+
+``She kaytuhs,'' he explained.  ``Ef it's a man
+you call him kaytuh; ef it's a lady, she's a
+kaytliss.  She does kaytun fer all lem blue-vein
+fam'lies in town.  She make ref'eshmuns, bring
+waituhs--'at's kaytun.  You' maw give big dinnuh,
+she have Fanny kaytuh, an' don't take no
+trouble 'tall herself.  Fanny take all 'at trouble.''
+
+``I see,'' said Jane.  ``But I don't see how her
+bein' a kaytliss started you to dressin' so high,
+Genesis.''
+
+``Thishere way.  Fanny say, `Look here,
+Genesis, I got big job t'morra night an' I'm man
+short, 'count o' havin' to have a 'nouncer.' ''
+
+``A what?''
+
+``Fanny talk jes' that way.  Goin' be big
+dinnuh-potty, an' thishere blue-vein fam'ly tell
+Fanny they want whole lot extry sploogin'; tell
+her put fine-lookin' cullud man stan' by drawin'-
+room do'--ask ev'ybody name an' holler out
+whatever name they say, jes' as they walk in. 
+Thishere fam'ly say they goin' show what's what,
+'nis town, an' they boun' Fanny go git 'em a
+'nouncer.  `Well, what's mattuh YOU doin' 'at
+'nouncin'?' Fanny say.  `Who--me?' I tell her. 
+`Yes, you kin, too!' she say, an' she say she len'
+me 'at waituh suit yoosta b'long ole Henry
+Gimlet what die' when he owin' Fanny sixteen
+dolluhs--an' Fanny tuck an' keep 'at waituh suit. 
+She use 'at suit on extry waituhs when she got
+some on her hands what 'ain't got no waituh suit. 
+`You wear 'at suit,' Fanny say, 'an' you be good
+'nouncer, 'cause you' a fine, big man, an' got a
+big, gran' voice; 'nen you learn befo' long be a
+waituh, Genesis, an' git dolluh an' half ev'y even'
+you waitin ', 'sides all 'at money you make cuttin'
+grass daytime.'  Well, suh, I'z stan' up doin' 'at
+'nouncin' ve'y nex' night.  White lady an' ge'l-
+mun walk todes my do', I step up to 'em--I step
+up to 'em thisaway.''
+
+Here Genesis found it pleasant to present the
+scene with some elaboration.  He dropped the
+handle of the freezer, rose, assumed a stately,
+but ingratiating, expression, and ``stepped up'' to
+the imagined couple, using a pacing and rhythmic
+gait--a conservative prance, which plainly indicated
+the simultaneous operation of an orchestra. 
+Then bending graciously, as though the persons
+addressed were of dwarfish stature, `` 'Scuse me,''
+he said, ``but kin I please be so p'lite as to 'quiah
+you' name?''  For a moment he listened attentively,
+then nodded, and, returning with the same
+aristocratic undulations to an imaginary doorway
+near the freezer, ``Misto an' Missuz Orlosko
+Rinktum!'' he proclaimed, sonorously.
+
+``WHO?'' cried Jane, fascinated.  ``Genesis,
+'nounce that again, right away!''
+
+Genesis heartily complied.
+
+``Misto an' Missuz Orlosko Rinktum!'' he
+bawled.
+
+``Was that really their names?'' she asked,
+eagerly.
+
+``Well, I kine o' fergit,'' Genesis admitted,
+resuming his work with the freezer.  ``Seem like
+I rickalect SOMEBODY got name good deal like
+what I say, 'cause some mighty blue-vein names
+at 'at dinnuh-potty, yessuh!  But I on'y git to
+be 'nouncer one time, 'cause Fanny tellin' me
+nex' fam'ly have dinnuh-potty make heap o' fun. 
+Say I done my 'nouncin' GOOD, but say what's
+use holler'n' names jes' fer some the neighbors or
+they own aunts an' uncles to walk in, when ev'y-
+body awready knows 'em?  So Fanny pummote
+me to waituh, an' I roun' right in amongs' big
+doin's mos' ev'y night.  Pass ice-cream, lemonade,
+lemon-ice, cake, samwitches.  `Lemme han'
+you li'l' mo' chicken salad, ma'am'--` 'Low me be
+so kine as to git you f'esh cup coffee, suh'--'S
+way ole Genesis talkin' ev'y even' 'ese days!''
+
+Jane looked at him thoughtfully.  ``Do you like
+it better than cuttin' grass, Genesis?'' she asked.
+
+He paused to consider.  ``Yes'm--when ban'
+play all lem TUNES!  My goo'ness, do soun' gran'!''
+
+``You can't do it to-night, though, Genesis,''
+said Jane.  ``You haf to be quiet on Sunday
+nights, don't you?''
+
+``Yes'm.  'Ain' got no mo' kaytun till nex'
+Friday even'.''
+
+``Oh, I bet that's the party for Miss Pratt at
+Mr. Parcher's!'' Jane cried.  ``Didn't I guess
+right?''
+
+``Yes'm.  I reckon I'm a-go'n' a see one you'
+fam'ly 'at night; see him dancin'--wait on him
+at ref'eshmuns.''
+
+Jane's expression became even more serious
+than usual.  ``Willie?  I don't know whether he's
+goin', Genesis.''
+
+``Lan' name!'' Genesis exclaimed.  ``He die ef
+he don' git INvite to 'at ball!''
+
+``Oh, he's invited,'' said Jane.  ``Only I think
+maybe he won't go.''
+
+``My goo'ness!  Why ain' he goin'?''
+
+Jane looked at her friend studiously before
+replying.  ``Well, it's a secret,'' she said, finally,
+``but it's a very inter'sting one, an' I'll tell you
+if you never tell.''
+
+``Yes'm, I ain' tellin' nobody.''
+
+Jane glanced round, then stepped a little closer
+and told the secret with the solemnity it deserved. 
+``Well, when Miss Pratt first came to visit Miss
+May Parcher, Willie used to keep papa's evening
+clo'es in his window-seat, an' mamma wondered
+what HAD become of 'em.  Then, after dinner,
+he'd slip up there an' put 'em on him, an' go out
+through the kitchen an' call on Miss Pratt. 
+Then mamma found 'em, an' she thought he
+oughtn't to do that, so she didn't tell him or
+anything, an' she didn't even tell papa, but she
+had the tailor make 'em ever an' ever so much
+bigger, 'cause they were gettin' too tight for papa. 
+An' well, so after that, even if Willie could get
+'em out o' mamma's clo'es-closet where she keeps
+'em now, he'd look so funny in 'em he couldn't
+wear 'em.  Well, an' then he couldn't go to pay
+calls on Miss Pratt in the evening since then,
+because mamma says after he started to go
+there in that suit he couldn't go without it, or
+maybe Miss Pratt or the other ones that's in love
+of her would think it was pretty queer, an' maybe
+kind of expeck it was papa's all the time. 
+Mamma says she thinks Willie must have worried
+a good deal over reasons to say why he'd
+always go in the daytime after that, an' never
+came in the evening, an' now they're goin' to
+have this party, an' she says he's been gettin'
+paler and paler every day since he heard about it. 
+Mamma says he's pale SOME because Miss Pratt's
+goin' away, but she thinks it's a good deal more
+because, well, if he would wear those evening
+clo'es just to go CALLIN', how would it be to go
+to that PARTY an' not have any!  That's what
+mamma thinks--an', Genesis, you promised you'd
+never tell as long as you live!''
+
+``Yes'm.  _I_ ain' tellin','' Genesis chuckled. 
+``I'm a-go'n' agit me one nem waituh suits befo'
+long, myse'f, so's I kin quit wearin' 'at ole Henry
+Gimlet suit what b'long to Fanny, an' have me
+a privut suit o' my own.  They's a secon'-han'
+sto' ovuh on the avynoo, where they got swaller-
+tail suits all way f'um sevum dolluhs to nineteem
+dolluhs an' ninety-eight cents.  I'm a--''
+
+Jane started, interrupting him.  `` 'SH!'' she
+whispered, laying a finger warningly upon her lips.
+
+William had entered the yard at the back
+gate, and, approaching over the lawn, had
+arrived at the steps of the porch before Jane
+perceived him.  She gave him an apprehensive look,
+but he passed into the house absent-mindedly,
+not even flinching at sight of Clematis--and Mrs.
+Baxter was right, William did look pale.
+
+``I guess he didn't hear us,'' said Jane, when
+he had disappeared into the interior.  ``He acks
+awful funny!'' she added, thoughtfully.  ``First
+when he was in love of Miss Pratt, he'd be mad
+about somep'm almost every minute he was
+home.  Couldn't anybody say ANYthing to him
+but he'd just behave as if it was frightful, an' then
+if you'd see him out walkin' with Miss Pratt,
+well, he'd look like--like--''  Jane paused; her
+eye fell upon Clematis and by a happy inspiration
+she was able to complete her simile with
+remarkable accuracy.  ``He'd look like the way
+Clematis looks at people!  That's just EXACTLY the
+way he'd look, Genesis, when he was walkin' with
+Miss Pratt; an' then when he was home he got
+so quiet he couldn't answer questions an' wouldn't
+hear what anybody said to him at table or anywhere,
+an' papa 'd nearly almost bust.  Mamma
+'n' papa 'd talk an' talk about it, an' ''--she
+lowered her voice--``an' I knew what they were
+talkin' about.  Well, an' then he'd hardly ever get
+mad any more; he'd just sit in his room, an'
+sometimes he'd sit in there without any light, or he'd
+sit out in the yard all by himself all evening,
+maybe; an' th'other evening after I was in bed
+I heard 'em, an' papa said--well, this is what
+papa told mamma.''  And again lowering her
+voice, she proffered the quotation from her
+father in atone somewhat awe-struck:  ``Papa
+said, by Gosh! if he ever 'a' thought a son of his
+could make such a Word idiot of himself he
+almost wished we'd both been girls!''
+
+Having completed this report in a violent
+whisper, Jane nodded repeatedly, for emphasis,
+and Genesis shook his head to show that he was
+as deeply impressed as she wished him to be. 
+``I guess,'' she added, after a pause ``I guess
+Willie didn't hear anything you an' I talked
+about him, or clo'es, or anything.''
+
+She was mistaken in part.  William had caught
+no reference to himself, but he had overheard
+something and he was now alone in his room,
+thinking about it almost feverishly.  ``A secon'-
+han' sto' ovuh on the avynoo, where they got
+swaller-tail suits all way f'um sevum dolluhs to
+nineteem dolluhs an' ninety-eight cents.''
+
+. . . Civilization is responsible for certain
+longings in the breast of man--artificial longings,
+but sometimes as poignant as hunger and thirst. 
+Of these the strongest are those of the maid for
+the bridal veil, of the lad for long trousers, and of
+the youth for a tailed coat of state.  To the
+gratification of this last, only a few of the early joys
+in life are comparable.  Indulged youths, too
+rich, can know, to the unctuous full, neither the
+longing nor the gratification; but one such as
+William, in ``moderate circumstances,'' is privileged
+to pant for his first evening clothes as the
+hart panteth after the water-brook--and sometimes,
+to pant in vain.  Also, this was a crisis in
+William's life: in addition to his yearning for such
+apparel, he was racked by a passionate urgency.
+
+As Jane had so precociously understood, unless
+he should somehow manage to obtain the proper
+draperies he could not go to the farewell dance
+for Miss Pratt.  Other unequipped boys could go
+in their ordinary ``best clothes,'' but William could
+not; for, alack! he had dressed too well too soon!
+
+He was in desperate case.
+
+The sorrow of the approaching great departure
+was but the heavier because it had been so long
+deferred.  To William it had seemed that this
+flower-strewn summer could actually end no more
+than he could actually die, but Time had begun its
+awful lecture, and even Seventeen was listening.
+
+Miss Pratt, that magic girl, was going home.
+
+
+
+XXIII
+
+FATHERS FORGET
+
+To the competent twenties, hundreds of miles
+suggesting no impossibilities, such departures
+may be rending, but not tragic.  Implacable, the
+difference to Seventeen!  Miss Pratt was going
+home, and Seventeen could not follow; it could
+only mourn upon the lonely shore, tracing little
+angelic footprints left in the sand.
+
+To Seventeen such a departure is final; it is a
+vanishing.
+
+And now it seemed possible that William might
+be deprived even of the last romantic consolations:
+of the ``last waltz together,'' of the last,
+last ``listening to music in the moonlight
+together''; of all those sacred lasts of the ``last
+evening together.''
+
+He had pleaded strongly for a ``dress-suit'' as
+a fitting recognition of his seventeenth birthday
+anniversary, but he had been denied by his father
+with a jocularity more crushing than rigor.  Since
+then--in particular since the arrival of Miss
+Pratt--Mr. Baxter's temper had been growing
+steadily more and more even.  That is, as
+affected by William's social activities, it was
+uniformly bad.  Nevertheless, after heavy
+brooding, William decided to make one final appeal
+before he resorted to measures which the
+necessities of despair had caused him to contemplate.
+
+He wished to give himself every chance for a
+good effect; therefore, he did not act hastily,
+but went over what he intended to say, rehearsing
+it with a few appropriate gestures, and even
+taking some pleasure in the pathetic dignity of
+this performance, as revealed by occasional
+glances at the mirror of his dressing-table.  In
+spite of these little alleviations, his trouble was
+great and all too real, for, unhappily, the previous
+rehearsal of an emotional scene does not prove
+the emotion insincere.
+
+Descending, he found his father and mother
+still sitting upon the front porch.  Then, standing
+before them, solemn-eyed, he uttered a preluding
+cough, and began:
+
+``Father,'' he said in a loud voice, ``I have
+come to--''
+
+``Dear me!'' Mrs. Baxter exclaimed, not
+perceiving that she was interrupting an intended
+oration.  ``Willie, you DO look pale!  Sit down,
+poor child; you oughtn't to walk so much in this
+heat.''
+
+``Father,'' William repeated.  ``Fath--''
+
+``I suppose you got her safely home from
+church,'' Mr. Baxter said.  ``She might have
+been carried off by footpads if you three boys
+hadn't been along to take care of her!''
+
+But William persisted heroically.  ``Father--''
+he said.  ``Father, I have come to--''
+
+``What on earth's the matter with you?''
+Mr. Baxter ceased to fan himself; Mrs. Baxter
+stopped rocking, and both stared, for it had
+dawned upon them that something unusual was
+beginning to take place.
+
+William backed to the start and tried it again. 
+``Father, I have come to--''  He paused and
+gulped, evidently expecting to be interrupted,
+but both of his parents remained silent, regarding
+him with puzzled surprise.  ``Father,'' he began
+once more, ``I have come--I have come to--to
+place before you something I think it's your duty
+as my father to undertake, and I have thought
+over this step before laying it before you.''
+
+``My soul!'' said Mr. Baxter, under his breath. 
+``My soul!''
+
+``At my age,'' William continued, swallowing,
+and fixing his earnest eyes upon the roof of the
+porch, to avoid the disconcerting stare of his
+father--``at my age there's some things that ought
+to be done and some things that ought not to be
+done.  If you asked me what I thought OUGHT to
+be done, there is only one answer:  When any-
+body as old as I am has to go out among other
+young men his own age that already got one, like
+anyway half of them HAVE, who I go with, and
+their fathers have already taken such a step,
+because they felt it was the only right thing to do,
+because at my age and the young men I go with's
+age, it IS the only right thing to do, because that
+is something nobody could deny, at my age--'' 
+Here William drew a long breath, and, deciding
+to abandon that sentence as irrevocably tangled,
+began another:  ``I have thought over this step,
+because there comes a time to every young man
+when they must lay a step before their father
+before something happens that they would be
+sorry for.  I have thought this undertaking over,
+and I am certain it would be your honest duty--''
+
+``My soul!'' gasped Mr. Baxter.  ``I thought I
+knew you pretty well, but you talk like a stranger
+to ME!  What is all this?  What you WANT?''
+
+``A dress-suit!'' said William.
+
+He had intended to say a great deal more
+before coming to the point, but, although through
+nervousness he had lost some threads of his
+rehearsed plea, it seemed to him that he was
+getting along well and putting his case with some
+distinction and power.  He was surprised and
+hurt, therefore, to hear his father utter a wordless
+shout in a tone of wondering derision.
+
+`I have more to say--'' William began.
+
+But Mr. Baxter cut him off.  ``A dress-suit!''
+he cried.  ``Well, I'm glad you were talking about
+SOMETHING, because I honestly thought it must be
+too much sun!''
+
+At this, the troubled William brought his eyes
+down from the porch roof and forgot his rehearsal. 
+He lifted his hand appealingly.  ``Father,''
+he said, ``I GOT to have one!''
+
+`` `Got to'!'' Mr. Baxter laughed a laugh that
+chilled the supplicant through and through.  ``At
+your age I thought I was lucky if I had ANY suit
+that was fit to be seen in.  You're too young,
+Willie.  I don't want you to get your mind on
+such stuff, and if I have my way, you won't have
+a dress-suit for four years more, anyhow.''
+
+``Father, I GOT to have one.  I got to have one
+right away!''  The urgency in William's voice
+was almost tearful.  ``I don't ask you to have it
+made, or to go to expensive tailors, but there's
+plenty of good ready-made ones that only cost
+about forty dollars; they're advertised in the
+paper.  Father, wouldn't you spend just forty
+dollars?  I'll pay it back when I'm in business;
+I'll work--''
+
+Mr. Baxter waved all this aside.  ``It's not the
+money.  It's the principle that I'm standing for,
+and I don't intend--''
+
+``Father, WON'T you do it?''
+
+``No, I will not!''
+
+William saw that sentence had been passed and
+all appeals for a new trial denied.  He choked,
+and rushed into the house without more ado.
+
+``Poor boy!'' his mother said.
+
+``Poor boy nothing!'' fumed Mr. Baxter. 
+``He's about lost his mind over that Miss Pratt. 
+Think of his coming out here and starting a regular
+debating society declamation before his
+mother and father!  Why, I never heard anything
+like it in my life!  I don't like to hurt his
+feelings, and I'd give him anything I could
+afford that would do him any good, but all he
+wants it for now is to splurge around in at this
+party before that little yellow-haired girl!  I
+guess he can wear the kind of clothes most of the
+other boys wear--the kind _I_ wore at parties--
+and never thought of wearing anything else. 
+What's the world getting to be like?  Seventeen
+years old and throws a fit because he can't have
+a dress-suit!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter looked thoughtful.  ``But--but
+suppose he felt he couldn't go to the dance unless
+he wore one, poor boy--''
+
+``All the better,'' said Mr. Baxter, firmly.  ``Do
+him good to keep away and get his mind on
+something else.''
+
+``Of course,'' she suggested, with some
+timidity, ``forty dollars isn't a great deal of money,
+and a ready-made suit, just to begin with--''
+
+Naturally, Mr. Baxter perceived whither she
+was drifting.  ``Forty dollars isn't a thousand,''
+he interrupted, ``but what you want to throw it
+away for?  One reason a boy of seventeen
+oughtn't to have evening clothes is the way he
+behaves with ANY clothes.  Forty dollars!  Why,
+only this summer he sat down on Jane's open
+paint-box, twice in one week!''
+
+``Well--Miss Pratt IS going away, and the
+dance will be her last night.  I'm afraid it would
+really hurt him to miss it.  I remember once,
+before we were engaged--that evening before papa
+took me abroad, and you--''
+
+``It's no use, mamma,'' he said.  ``We were
+both in the twenties--why, _I_ was six years older
+than Willie, even then.  There's no comparison
+at all.  I'll let him order a dress-suit on his
+twenty-first birthday and not a minute before. 
+I don't believe in it, and I intend to see that he
+gets all this stuff out of his system.  He's got to
+learn some hard sense!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter shook her head doubtfully, but
+she said no more.  Perhaps she regretted a little
+that she had caused Mr. Baxter's evening clothes
+to be so expansively enlarged--for she looked
+rather regretful.  She also looked rather
+incomprehensible, not to say cryptic, during the long
+silence which followed, and Mr. Baxter resumed
+his rocking, unaware of the fixity of gaze which
+his wife maintained upon him--a thing the most
+loyal will do sometimes.
+
+The incomprehensible look disappeared before
+long; but the regretful one was renewed in the
+mother's eyes whenever she caught glimpses of
+her son, that day, and at the table, where
+William's manner was gentle--even toward his
+heartless father.
+
+Underneath that gentleness, the harried self of
+William was no longer debating a desperate
+resolve, but had fixed upon it, and on the following
+afternoon Jane chanced to be a witness of some
+resultant actions.  She came to her mother with
+an account of them.
+
+``Mamma, what you s'pose Willie wants of
+those two ole market-baskets that were down
+cellar?''
+
+``Why, Jane?''
+
+``Well, he carried 'em in his room, an' then he
+saw me lookin'; an' he said, `G'way from here!'
+an' shut the door.  He looks so funny!  What's
+he want of those ole baskets, mamma?''
+
+``I don't know.  Perhaps he doesn't even know,
+himself, Jane.''
+
+But William did know, definitely.  He had set
+the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale
+determination, he was proceeding to fill them.  When
+his task was completed the two baskets contained:
+
+One ``heavy-weight winter suit of clothes.''
+
+One ``light-weight summer suit of clothes.''
+
+One cap.
+
+One straw hat.
+
+Two pairs of white flannel trousers.
+
+Two Madras shirts.
+
+Two flannel shirts.
+
+Two silk shirts.
+
+Seven soft collars.
+
+Three silk neckties.
+
+One crocheted tie.
+
+Eight pairs of socks.
+
+One pair of patent-leather shoes.
+
+One pair of tennis-shoes.
+
+One overcoat.
+
+Some underwear.
+
+One two-foot shelf of books, consisting of several
+sterling works upon mathematics, in a damaged
+condition; five of Shakespeare's plays,
+expurgated for schools and colleges, and also
+damaged; a work upon political economy, and
+another upon the science of physics; Webster's
+Collegiate Dictionary; How to Enter a Drawing-
+Room and Five Hundred Other Hints; Witty Sayings
+from Here and There; Lorna Doone; Quentin
+Durward; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a
+very old copy of Moths, and a small Bible.
+
+William spread handkerchiefs upon the two
+over-bulging cargoes, that their nature might not
+be disclosed to the curious, and, after listening a
+moment at his door, took the baskets, one upon
+each arm, then went quickly down the stairs and
+out of the house, out of the yard, and into the
+alley--by which route he had modestly chosen
+to travel.
+
+. . . After an absence of about two hours he
+returned empty-handed and anxious.  ``Mother,
+I want to speak to you,'' he said, addressing Mrs
+Baxter in a voice which clearly proved the strain
+of these racking days.  ``I want to speak to you
+about something important.''
+
+``Yes, Willie?''
+
+``Please send Jane away.  I can't talk about
+important things with a child in the room.''
+
+Jane naturally wished to stay, since he was
+going to say something important.  ``Mamma,
+do I HAF to go?''
+
+``Just a few minutes, dear.''
+
+Jane walked submissively out of the door,
+leaving it open behind her.  Then, having gone about
+six feet farther, she halted and, preserving a
+breathless silence, consoled herself for her banishment
+by listening to what was said, hearing it all
+as satisfactorily as if she had remained in the
+room.  Quiet, thoughtful children, like Jane,
+avail themselves of these little pleasures oftener
+than is suspected.
+
+``Mother,'' said William, with great intensity,
+``I want to ask you please to lend me three dollars
+and sixty cents.''
+
+``What for, Willie?''
+
+``Mother, I just ask you to lend me three
+dollars and sixty cents.''
+
+``But what FOR?''
+
+``Mother, I don't feel I can discuss it any; I
+simply ask you:  Will you lend me three dollars
+and sixty cents?''
+
+Mrs. Baxter laughed gently.  ``I don't think
+I could, Willie, but certainly I should want to
+know what for.''
+
+``Mother, I am going on eighteen years of age,
+and when I ask for a small sum of money like
+three dollars and sixty cents I think I might be
+trusted to know how to use it for my own good
+without having to answer questions like a ch--''
+
+``Why, Willie,'' she exclaimed, ``you ought to
+have plenty of money of your own!''
+
+``Of course I ought,'' he agreed, warmly.  ``If
+you'd ask father to give me a regular allow--''
+
+``No, no; I mean you ought to have plenty
+left out of that old junk and furniture I let you
+sell last month.  You had over nine dollars!'
+
+``That was five weeks ago,'' William explained,
+wearily.
+
+``But you certainly must have some of it left. 
+Why, it was MORE than nine dollars, I believe! 
+I think it was nearer ten.  Surely you haven't--''
+
+``Ye gods!'' cried the goaded William.  ``A
+person going on eighteen years old ought to be
+able to spend nine dollars in five weeks without
+everybody's acting like it was a crime!  Mother,
+I ask you the simple question:  Will you PLEASE
+lend me three dollars and sixty cents?''
+
+``I don't think I ought to, dear.  I'm sure
+your father wouldn't wish me to, unless you'll
+tell me what you want it for.  In fact, I won't
+consider it at all unless you do tell me.''
+
+``You won't do it?'' he quavered.
+
+She shook her head gently.  ``You see, dear,
+I'm afraid the reason you don't tell me is because
+you know that I wouldn't give it to you if I
+knew what you wanted it for.''
+
+This perfect diagnosis of the case so
+disheartened him that after a few monosyllabic
+efforts to continue the conversation with dignity
+he gave it up, and left in such a preoccupation
+with despondency that he passed the surprised
+Jane in the hall without suspecting what she
+had been doing.
+
+That evening, after dinner, he addressed to his
+father an impassioned appeal for three dollars
+and sixty cents, laying such stress of pathos on
+his principal argument that if he couldn't have
+a dress-suit, at least he ought to be given three
+dollars and sixty CENTS (the emphasis is William's)
+that Mr. Baxter was moved in the direction 
+of consent--but not far enough.  ``I'd like
+to let you have it, Willie,'' he said, excusing
+himself for refusal, ``but your mother felt SHE
+oughtn't to do it unless you'd say what you
+wanted it for, and I'm sure she wouldn't like me
+to do it.  I can't let you have it unless you get
+her to say she wants me to.''
+
+Thus advised, the unfortunate made another
+appeal to his mother the next day, and, having
+brought about no relaxation of the situation,
+again petitioned his father, on the following
+evening.  So it went; the torn and driven William
+turning from parent to parent; and surely, since
+the world began, the special sum of three dollars
+and sixty cents has never been so often mentioned
+in any one house and in the same space of
+time as it was in the house of the Baxters during
+Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
+of that oppressive week.
+
+But on Friday William disappeared after
+breakfast and did not return to lunch.
+
+
+
+XXIV
+
+CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
+
+Mrs. Baxter was troubled.  During the
+afternoon she glanced often from the
+open window of the room where she had gone to
+sew, but the peaceful neighborhood continued
+to be peaceful, and no sound of the harassed
+footsteps of William echoed from the pavement. 
+However, she saw Genesis arrive (in his week-
+day costume) to do some weeding, and Jane
+immediately skip forth for mingled purposes of
+observation and conversation.
+
+``What DO they say?'' thought Mrs. Baxter,
+observing that both Jane and Genesis were unusually
+animated.  But for once that perplexity was
+to be dispersed.  After an exciting half-hour
+Jane came flying to her mother, breathless.
+
+``Mamma,'' she cried, ``I know where Willie is! 
+Genesis told me, 'cause he saw him, an' he
+talked to him while he was doin' it.''
+
+``Doing what?  Where?''
+
+``Mamma, listen!  What you think Willie's
+doin'?  I bet you can't g--''
+
+``Jane!'' Mrs Baxter spoke sharply.  ``Tell
+me what Genesis said, at once.''
+
+``Yes'm.  Willie's sittin' in a lumber-yard that
+Genesis comes by on his way from over on the
+avynoo where all the colored people live--an' he's
+countin' knot-holes in shingles.''
+
+``He is WHAT?''
+
+``Yes'm.  Genesis knows all about it, because
+he was thinkin' of doin' it himself, only he says
+it would be too slow.  This is the way it is,
+mamma.  Listen, mamma, because this is just
+exackly the way it is.  Well, this lumber-yard
+man got into some sort of a fuss because he
+bought millions an' millions of shingles, mamma,
+that had too many knots in, an' the man don't
+want to pay for 'em, or else the store where he
+bought 'em won't take 'em back, an' they got to
+prove how many shingles are bad shingles, or
+somep'm, an' anyway, mamma, that's what
+Willie's doin'.  Every time he comes to a bad
+shingle, mamma, he puts it somewheres else,
+or somep'm like that, mamma, an' every time
+he's put a thousand bad shingles in this other
+place they give him six cents.  He gets the six
+cents to keep, mamma--an' that's what he's been
+doin' all day!''
+
+``Good gracious!''
+
+``Oh, but that's nothing, mamma--just you
+wait till you hear the rest.  THAT part of it isn't
+anything a TALL, mamma!  You wouldn't hardly
+notice that part of it if you knew the other part
+of it, mamma.  Why, that isn't ANYTHING!'' Jane
+made demonstrations of scorn for the insignificant
+information already imparted.
+
+``Jane!''
+
+``Yes'm?''
+
+``I want to know everything Genesis told
+you,'' said her mother, ``and I want you to tell
+it as quickly as you can.''
+
+``Well, I AM tellin' it, mamma!'' Jane
+protested.  ``I'm just BEGINNING to tell it.  I can't
+tell it unless there's a beginning, can I?  How
+could there be ANYTHING unless you had to begin
+it, mamma?''
+
+``Try your best to go on, Jane!''
+
+``Yes'm.  Well, Genesis says--  Mamma!''
+Jane interrupted herself with a little outcry. 
+``Oh!  I bet THAT'S what he had those two market-
+baskets for!  Yes, sir!  That's just what he did! 
+An' then he needed the rest o' the money an'
+you an' papa wouldn't give him any, an' so he
+began countin' shingles to-day 'cause to-night's
+the night of the party an' he just HASS to have it!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter, who had risen to her feet,
+recalled the episode of the baskets and sank into a
+chair.  ``How did Genesis know Willie wanted
+forty dollars, and if Willie's pawned something how
+did Genesis know THAT?  Did Willie tell Gen--''
+
+``Oh no, mamma, Willie didn't want forty
+dollars--only fourteen!''
+
+``But he couldn't get even the cheapest ready-
+made dress-suit for fourteen dollars.''
+
+``Mamma, you're gettin' it all mixed up!''
+Jane cried.  ``Listen, mamma!  Genesis knows
+all about a second-hand store over on the avynoo;
+an' it keeps 'most everything, an' Genesis says
+it's the nicest store!  It keeps waiter suits all
+the way up to nineteen dollars and ninety-nine
+cents.  Well, an' Genesis wants to get one of
+those suits, so he goes in there all the time, an'
+talks to the man an' bargains an' bargains with
+him, 'cause Genesis says this man is the
+bargainest man in the wide worl', mamma!  That's
+what Genesis says.  Well, an' so this man's name
+is One-eye Beljus, mamma.  That's his name,
+an' Genesis says so.  Well, an' so this man that
+Genesis told me about, that keeps the store--I
+mean One-eye Beljus, mamma--well, One-eye
+Beljus had Willie's name written down in a book,
+an' he knew Genesis worked for fam'lies that
+have boys like Willie in 'em, an' this morning
+One-eye Beljus showed Genesis Willie's name
+written down in this book, an' One-eye Beljus
+asked Genesis if he knew anybody by that name
+an' all about him.  Well, an' so at first Genesis
+pretended he was tryin' to remember, because he
+wanted to find out what Willie went there for.
+Genesis didn't tell any stories, mamma; he just
+pretended he couldn't remember, an' so, well,
+One-eye Beljus kept talkin' an' pretty soon
+Genesis found out all about it.  One-eye Beljus
+said Willie came in there an' tried on the coat
+of one of those waiter suits--''
+
+``Oh no!'' gasped Mrs. Baxter.
+
+``Yes'm, an' One-eye Beljus said it was the
+only one that would fit Willie, an' One-eye
+Beljus told Willie that suit was worth fourteen
+dollars, an' Willie said he didn't have any money,
+but he'd like to trade something else for it. 
+Well, an' so One-eye Beljus said this was an
+awful fine suit an' the only one he had that
+had b'longed to a white gentleman.  Well, an'
+so they bargained, an' bargained, an' bargained,
+an' BARGAINED!  An' then, well, an' so at last
+Willie said he'd go an' get everything that
+b'longed to him, an' One-eye Beljus could pick
+out enough to make fourteen dollars' worth,
+an' then Willie could have the suit.  Well, an'
+so Willie came home an' put everything he had
+that b'longed to him into those two baskets,
+mamma--that's just what he did, 'cause Genesis
+says he told One-eye Beljus it was everything
+that b'longed to him, an' that would take two
+baskets, mamma.  Well, then, an' so he told
+One-eye Beljus to pick out fourteen dollars'
+worth, an' One-eye Beljus ast Willie if he didn't
+have a watch.  Well, Willie took out his watch
+an' One-eye Beljus said it was an awful bad
+watch, but he would put it in for a dollar; an'
+he said, `I'll put your necktie pin in for forty
+cents more,' so Willie took it out of his necktie
+an' then One-eye Beljus said it would take all
+the things in the baskets to make I forget how
+much, mamma, an' the watch would be a dollar
+more, an' the pin forty cents, an' that would
+leave just three dollars an' sixty cents more for
+Willie to pay before he could get the suit.''
+
+Mrs. Baxter's face had become suffused with
+high color, but she wished to know all that
+Genesis had said, and, mastering her feelings
+with an effort, she told Jane to proceed--a
+command obeyed after Jane had taken several long
+breaths.
+
+``Well, an' so the worst part of it is, Genesis
+says, it's because that suit is haunted.''
+
+``What!''
+
+``Yes'm,'' said Jane, solemnly; ``Genesis says
+it's haunted.  Genesis says everybody over on
+the avynoo knows all about that suit, an' he says
+that's why One-eye Beljus never could sell it
+before.  Genesis says One-eye Beljus tried to sell
+it to a colored man for three dollars, but the man
+said he wouldn't put in on for three hunderd
+dollars, an' Genesis says HE wouldn't, either,
+because it belonged to a Dago waiter that--that--''
+Jane's voice sank to a whisper of unctuous horror. 
+She was having a wonderful time!  ``Mamma,
+this Dago waiter, he lived over on the avynoo,
+an' he took a case-knife he'd sharpened--
+AN' HE CUT A LADY'S HEAD OFF WITH IT!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter screamed faintly.
+
+``An' he got hung, mamma!  If you don't
+believe it, you can ask One-eye Beljus--I guess HE
+knows!  An' you can ask--''
+
+``Hush!''
+
+``An' he sold this suit to One-eye Beljus when
+he was in jail, mamma.  He sold it to him before
+he got hung, mamma.''
+
+``Hush, Jane!''
+
+But Jane couldn't hush now.  ``An' he had
+that suit on when he cut the lady's head off,
+mamma, an' that's why it's haunted.  They
+cleaned it all up excep' a few little spots of
+bl--''
+
+``JANE!'' shouted her mother.  ``You must not
+talk about such things, and Genesis mustn't tell,
+you stories of that sort!''
+
+``Well, how could he help it, if he told me about
+Willie?'' Jane urged, reasonably.
+
+``Never mind!  Did that crazy ch--  Did
+Willie LEAVE the baskets in that dreadful place?''
+
+``Yes'm--an' his watch an' pin,'' Jane
+informed her, impressively.  ``An' One-eye Beljus
+wanted to know if Genesis knew Willie, because
+One-eye Beljus wanted to know if Genesis
+thought Willie could get the three dollars an;
+sixty cents, an' One-eye Beljus wanted to know
+if Genesis thought he could get anything more
+out of him besides that.  He told Genesis he
+hadn't told Willie he COULD have the suit, after
+all; he just told him he THOUGHT he could, but he
+wouldn't say for certain till he brought him the
+three dollars an' sixty cents.  So Willie left all
+his things there, an' his watch an--''
+
+``That will do!'' Mrs. Baxter's voice was
+sharper than it had ever been in Jane's recollection. 
+``I don't need to hear any more--and I
+don't WANT to hear any more!''
+
+Jane was justly aggrieved.  ``But, mamma,
+it isn't MY fault!''
+
+Mrs. Baxter's lips parted to speak, but she
+checked herself.  ``Fault?'' she said, gravely. 
+``I wonder whose fault it really is!''
+
+And with that she went hurriedly into William's
+room and made a brief inspection of his
+clothes-closet and dressing-table.  Then, as Jane
+watched her in awed silence, she strode to the
+window, and called, loudly:
+
+``Genesis!''
+
+``Yes'm?'' came the voice from below.
+
+``Go to that lumber-yard where Mr. William
+is at work and bring him here to me at once. 
+If he declines to come, tell him--''  Her voice
+broke oddly; she choked, but Jane could not
+decide with what emotion.  ``Tell him--tell him
+I ordered you to use force if necessary!  Hurry!''
+
+``YES'M!''
+
+Jane ran to the window in time to see Genesis
+departing seriously through the back gate.
+
+``Mamma--''
+
+``Don't talk to me now, Jane,'' Mrs. Baxter
+said, crisply.  ``I want you to go down in the
+yard, and when Willie comes tell him I'm waiting
+for him here in his own room.  And don't come
+with him, Jane.  Run!''
+
+``Yes, mamma.''  Jane was pleased with this
+appointment; she anxiously desired to be the
+first to see how Willie ``looked.''
+
+. . . He looked flurried and flustered and
+breathless, and there were blisters upon the reddened
+palms of his hands.  ``What on earth's the
+matter, mother?'' he asked, as he stood panting
+before her.  ``Genesis said something was wrong,
+and he said you told him to hit me if I wouldn't
+come.''
+
+``Oh NO!'' she cried.  ``I only meant I thought
+perhaps you wouldn't obey any ordinary message--''
+
+``Well, well, it doesn't matter, but please hurry
+and say what you want to, because I got to get
+back and--''
+
+``No,'' Mrs. Baxter said, quietly, ``you're not
+going back to count any more shingles, Willie. 
+How much have you earned?''
+
+He swallowed, but spoke bravely.  ``Thirty-
+six cents.  But I've been getting lots faster the
+last two hours and there's a good deal of time
+before six o'clock.  Mother--''
+
+``No,'' she said.  ``You're going over to that
+horrible place where you've left your clothes and
+your watch and all those other things in the two
+baskets, and you're going to bring them home
+at once.''
+
+``Mother!'' he cried, aghast.  ``Who told you?''
+
+``It doesn't matter.  You don't want your
+father to find out, do you?  Then get those
+things back here as quickly as you can.  They'll
+have to be fumigated after being in that den.''
+
+``They've never been out of the baskets,'; he
+protested, hotly, ``except just to be looked at. 
+They're MY things, mother, and I had a right to
+do what I needed to with 'em, didn't I?''  His
+utterance became difficult.  ``You and father
+just CAN'T understand--and you won't do anything
+to help me--''
+
+``Willie, you can go to the party,'' she said,
+gently.  ``You didn't need those frightful clothes
+at all.''
+
+``I do!'' he cried.  ``I GOT to have 'em! I CAN'T
+go in my day clo'es!  There's a reason you
+wouldn't understand why I can't.  I just CAN'T!''
+
+``Yes,'' she said, ``you can go to the party.'' 
+
+``I can't, either!  Not unless you give me three
+dollars and twenty-four cents, or unless I can
+get back to the lumber-yard and earn the rest
+before--''
+
+``No!''  And the warm color that had rushed
+over Mrs. Baxter during Jane's sensational
+recital returned with a vengeance.  Her eyes
+flashed.  ``If you'd rather I sent a policeman for
+those baskets, I'll send one.  I should prefer to
+do it--much!  And to have that rascal arrested. 
+If you don't want me to send a policeman you
+can go for them yourself, but you must start
+within ten minutes, because if you don't I'll
+telephone headquarters.  Ten minutes, Willie,
+and I mean it!''
+
+He cried out, protesting.  She would make him
+a thing of scorn forever and soil his honor, if she
+sent a policeman.  Mr. Beljus was a fair and
+honest tradesman, he explained, passionately,
+and had not made the approaches in this matter. 
+Also, the garments in question, though not
+entirely new, nor of the highest mode, were of good
+material and in splendid condition.  Unmistakably
+they were evening clothes, and such a
+bargain at fourteen dollars that William would
+guarantee to sell them for twenty after he had
+worn them this one evening.  Mr. Beljus himself
+had said that he would not even think of
+letting them go at fourteen to anybody else, and
+as for the two poor baskets of worn and useless
+articles offered in exchange, and a bent scarf-
+pin and a worn-out old silver watch that had
+belonged to great-uncle Ben--why, the ten dollars
+and forty cents allowed upon them was
+beyond all ordinary liberality; it was almost
+charity.  There was only one place in town where
+evening clothes were rented, and the suspicious
+persons in charge had insisted that William obtain
+from his father a guarantee to insure the return
+of the garments in perfect condition.  So that
+was hopeless.  And wasn't it better, also, to
+wear clothes which had known only one previous
+occupant (as was the case with Mr. Beljus's
+offering) than to hire what chance hundreds had
+hired?  Finally, there was only one thing to be
+considered and this was the fact that William
+HAD to have those clothes!
+
+``Six minutes,'' said Mrs. Baxter, glancing
+implacably at her watch.  ``When it's ten I'll
+telephone.''
+
+And the end of it was, of course, victory for
+the woman--victory both moral and physical. 
+Three-quarters of an hour later she was
+unburdening the contents of the two baskets and
+putting the things back in place, illuminating
+these actions with an expression of strong
+distaste--in spite of broken assurances that Mr.
+Beljus had not more than touched any of the
+articles offered to him for valuation.
+
+. . . At dinner, which was unusually early that
+evening, Mrs. Baxter did not often glance toward
+her son; she kept her eyes from that white face
+and spent most of her time in urging upon Mr.
+Baxter that he should be prompt in dressing for a
+card-club meeting which he and she were to attend
+that evening.  These admonitions of hers
+were continued so pressingly that Mr. Baxter,
+after protesting that there was no use in being a
+whole hour too early, groaningly went to dress
+without even reading his paper.  
+
+William had retired to his own room, where he
+lay upon his bed in the darkness.  He heard the
+evening noises of the house faintly through the
+closed door: voices and the clatter of metal and
+china from the far-away kitchen, Jane's laugh in
+the hall, the opening and closing of the doors. 
+Then his father seemed to be in distress about
+something.  William heard him complaining to
+Mrs. Baxter, and though the words were indistinct,
+the tone was vigorously plaintive.  Mrs.
+Baxter laughed and appeared to make light of
+his troubles, whatever they were--and presently
+their footsteps were audible from the stairway;
+the front door closed emphatically, and they were
+gone.
+
+Everything was quiet now.  The open window
+showed as a greenish oblong set in black, and
+William knew that in a little while there would
+come through the stillness of that window the
+distant sound of violins.  That was a moment he
+dreaded with a dread that ached.  And as he lay
+on his dreary bed he thought of brightly lighted
+rooms where other boys were dressing eagerly
+faces and hair shining, hearts beating high--boys
+who would possess this last evening and the ``last
+waltz together,'' the last smile and the last sigh.
+
+It did not once enter his mind that he could
+go to the dance in his ``best suit,'' or that
+possibly the other young people at the party would
+be too busy with their own affairs to notice
+particularly what he wore.  It was the unquestionable
+and granite fact, to his mind, that the whole
+derisive World would know the truth about his
+earlier appearances in his father's clothes.  And
+that was a form of ruin not to be faced.  In the
+protective darkness and seclusion of William's
+bedroom, it is possible that smarting eyes relieved
+themselves by blinking rather energetically; it is
+even possible that there was a minute damp spot
+upon the pillow.  Seventeen cannot always manage
+the little boy yet alive under all the coverings.
+
+Now arrived that moment he had most painfully
+anticipated, and dance-music drifted on the
+night;--but there came a tapping upon his door
+and a soft voice spoke.
+
+``Will-ee?''
+
+With a sharp exclamation William swung his
+legs over the edge of the bed and sat up.  Of all
+things he desired not, he desired no conversation
+with, or on the part of, Jane.  But he had
+forgotten to lock his door--the handle turned, and a
+dim little figure marched in.
+
+``Willie, Adelia's goin' to put me to bed.''
+
+``You g'way from here,'' he said, huskily.  ``I
+haven't got time to talk to you.  I'm busy.''
+
+``Well, you can wait a minute, can't you?'' she
+asked, reasonably.  ``I haf to tell you a joke on
+mamma.''
+
+``I don't want to hear any jokes!''
+
+``Well, I HAF to tell you this one 'cause she told
+me to!  Oh!'' Jane clapped her hand over her
+mouth and jumped up and down, offering a
+fantastic silhouette against the light of the Open
+door.  ``Oh, oh, OH!''
+
+``What's matter?''
+
+``She said I mustn't, MUSTN'T tell that she told
+me to tell!  My goodness!  I forgot that! 
+Mamma took me off alone right after dinner, an'
+she told me to tell you this joke on her a little
+after she an' papa had left the house, but she said,
+`Above all THINGS,' she said, `DON'T let Willie know
+_I_ said to tell him.'  That's just what she said,
+an' here that's the very first thing I had to go an'
+do!''
+
+``Well, what of it?''
+
+Jane quieted down.  The pangs of her remorse
+were lost in her love of sensationalism, and her
+voice sank to the thrilling whisper which it was
+one of her greatest pleasures to use.  ``Did you
+hear what a fuss papa was makin' when he was
+dressin' for the card-party?''
+
+``_I_ don't care if--''
+
+``He had to go in his reg'lar clo'es!'' whispered
+Jane, triumphantly.  ``An' this is the joke on
+mamma: you know that tailor that let papa's
+dress-suit 'way, 'way out; well, Mamma thinks
+that tailor must think she's crazy, or somep'm
+'cause she took papa's dress-suit to him last
+Monday to get it pressed for this card-party,
+an she guesses he must of understood her to
+tell him to do lots besides just pressin' it. 
+Anyway, he went an' altered it, an' he took it 'way,
+'way IN again; an' this afternoon when it came
+back it was even tighter 'n what it was in the first
+place, an' papa couldn't BEGIN to get into it! 
+Well, an' so it's all pressed an' ev'ything, an' she
+stopped on the way out, an' whispered to me
+that she'd got so upset over the joke on her that
+she couldn't remember where she put it when
+she took it out o' papa's room after he gave up
+tryin' to get inside of it.  An' that,'' cried Jane--
+``that's the funniest thing of all!  Why, it's
+layin' right on her bed this very minute!''
+
+In one bound William leaped through the open
+door.  Two seconds sufficed for his passage
+through the hall to his mother's bedroom--and
+there, neatly spread upon the lace coverlet and
+brighter than coronation robes, fairer than
+Joseph's holy coat, It lay!
+
+
+
+XXV
+
+YOUTH AND MR. PARCHER
+
+As a hurried worldling, in almost perfectly
+fitting evening clothes, passed out of his
+father's gateway and hurried toward the place
+whence faintly came the sound of dance-music, a
+child's voice called sweetly from an unidentified
+window of the darkened house behind him:
+
+``Well, ANYWAY, you try and have a good time,
+Willie!''
+
+William made no reply; he paused not in his
+stride.  Jane's farewell injunction, though
+obviously not ill-intended, seemed in poor taste,
+and a reply might have encouraged her to
+believe that, in some measure at least, he
+condescended to discuss his inner life with her.  He
+departed rapidly, but with hauteur.  The moon
+was up, but shade-trees were thick along the
+sidewalk, and the hauteur was invisible to any
+human eye; nevertheless, William considered it
+necessary.
+
+Jane's friendly but ill-chosen ``ANYWAY'' had
+touched doubts already annoying him.  He was
+certain to be late to the party--so late, indeed,
+that it might prove difficult to obtain a proper
+number of dances with the sacred girl in whose
+honor the celebration was being held.  Too many
+were steeped in a sense of her sacredness, well
+he wot! and he was unable to find room in his
+apprehensive mind for any doubt that these
+others would be accursedly diligent.
+
+But as he hastened onward his spirits rose,
+and he did reply to Jane, after all, though he
+had placed a hundred yards between them.
+
+``Yes, and you can bet your bottom dollar I
+will, too!'' he muttered, between his determined
+teeth.
+
+The very utterance of the words increased the
+firmness of his decision, and at the same time
+cheered him.  His apprehensions fell away, and
+a glamorous excitement took their place, as he
+turned a corner and the music burst more loudly
+upon his tingling ear.  For there, not half-way
+to the next street, the fairy scene lay spread
+before him.
+
+Spellbound groups of uninvited persons, most
+of them colored, rested their forearms upon the
+upper rail of the Parchers' picket fence, offering
+to William's view a silhouette like that of a
+crowd at a fire.  Beyond the fence, bright forms
+went skimming, shimmering, wavering over a
+white platform, while high overhead the young
+moon sprayed a thinner light down through the
+maple leaves, to where processions of rosy globes
+hung floating in the blue night.  The mild breeze
+trembled to the silver patterings of a harp, to the
+sweet, barbaric chirping of plucked strings of
+violin and 'cello--and swooned among the maple
+leaves to the rhythmic crooning of a flute.  And,
+all the while, from the platform came the sounds
+of little cries in girlish voices, and the cadenced
+shuffling of young feet, where the witching dance-
+music had its way, as ever and forever, with big
+and little slippers.
+
+The heart of William had behaved tumultuously
+the summer long, whenever his eyes beheld
+those pickets of the Parchers' fence, but now it
+outdid all its previous riotings.  He was forced
+to open his mouth and gasp for breath, so deep
+was his draught of that young wine, romance. 
+Yonder--somewhere in the breath-taking radiance--
+danced his Queen with all her Court about
+her.  Queen and Court, thought William, and
+nothing less exorbitant could have expressed his
+feeling.  For seventeen needs only some paper
+lanterns, a fiddle, and a pretty girl--and
+Versailles is all there!
+
+The moment was so rich that William crossed
+the street with a slower step.  His mood changed:
+an exaltation had come upon him, though he was
+never for an instant unaware of the tragedy 
+beneath all this worldly show and glamor.  It was
+the last night of the divine visit; to-morrow the
+town would lie desolate, a hollow shell in the
+dust, without her.  Miss Pratt would be gone--
+gone utterly--gone away on the TRAIN!  But to-
+night was just beginning, and to-night he would
+dance with her; he would dance and dance with
+her--he would dance and dance like mad!  He
+and she, poetic and fated pair, would dance on
+and on!  They would be intoxicated by the lights
+--the lights, the flowers, and the music.  Nay,
+the flowers might droop, the lights might go out,
+the music cease and dawn come--she and he
+would dance recklessly on--on--on!
+
+A sense of picturesqueness--his own 
+picturesqueness--made him walk rather theatrically
+as he passed through the groups of humble
+onlookers outside the picket fence.  Many of these
+turned to stare at the belated guest, and William
+was unconscious of neither their low estate nor
+his own quality as a patrician man-about-town in
+almost perfectly fitting evening dress.  A faint,
+cold smile was allowed to appear upon his lips,
+and a fragment from a story he had read came
+momentarily to his mind. . . .  ``Through the
+gaping crowds the young Augustan noble was
+borne down from the Palatine, scornful in his
+jeweled litter. . . .''
+
+An admiring murmur reached William's ear.
+
+``OH, oh, honey!  Look attem long-tail suit!  'At's
+a rich boy, honey!''
+
+``Yessum, SO!  Bet he got his pockets pack'
+full o' twenty-dolluh gol' pieces right iss minute!''
+
+``You right, honey!''
+
+William allowed the coldness of his faint smile
+to increase to become scornful.  These poor
+sidewalk creatures little knew what seethed
+inside the alabaster of the young Augustan noble! 
+What was it to THEM that this was Miss Pratt's
+last night and that he intended to dance and
+dance with her, on and on?
+
+Almost sternly he left these squalid lives
+behind him and passed to the festal gateway.
+
+Upon one of the posts of that gateway there
+rested the elbow of a contemplative man, middle-
+aged or a little worse.  Of all persons having
+pleasure or business within the bright inclosure,
+he was, that evening, the least important; being
+merely the background parent who paid the bills. 
+However, even this unconsidered elder shared a
+thought in common with the Augustan now
+approaching:  Mr. Parcher had just been thinking
+that there was true romance in the scene before
+him.
+
+But what Mr. Parcher contemplated as
+romance arose from the fact that these young
+people were dancing on a spot where their great-
+grandfathers had scalped Indians.  Music was
+made for them by descendants, it might well be,
+of Romulus, of Messalina, of Benvenuto Cellini,
+and, around behind the house, waiting to serve
+the dancers with light food and drink, lounged
+and gossiped grandchildren of the Congo, only a
+generation or so removed from dances for which
+a chance stranger furnished both the occasion
+and the refreshments.  Such, in brief, was Mr.
+Parcher's peculiar view of what constituted the
+romantic element.
+
+And upon another subject preoccupying both
+Mr. Parcher and William, their two views,
+though again founded upon one thought, had no
+real congeniality.  The preoccupying subject was
+the imminence of Miss Pratt's departure;--
+neither Mr. Parcher nor William forgot it for an
+instant.  No matter what else played upon the
+surface of their attention, each kept saying to
+himself, underneath:  ``This is the last night--the
+last night!  Miss Pratt is going away--going
+away to-morrow!''
+
+Mr. Parcher's expression was peaceful.  It was
+more peaceful than it had been for a long time. 
+In fact, he wore the look of a man who had been
+through the mill but now contemplated a restful
+and health-restoring vacation.  For there are
+people in this world who have no respect for the
+memory of Ponce de Leon, and Mr. Parcher had
+come to be of their number.  The elimination
+of William from his evenings had lightened the
+burden; nevertheless, Mr. Parcher would have
+stated freely and openly to any responsible party
+that a yearning for the renewal of his youth had
+not been intensified by his daughter's having as
+a visitor, all summer long, a howling belle of
+eighteen who talked baby-talk even at breakfast
+and spread her suitors all over the small house--
+and its one veranda--from eight in the morning
+until hours of the night long after their mothers
+(in Mr. Parcher's opinion) should have sent their
+fathers to march them home.  Upon Mr. Parcher's
+optimism the effect of so much unavoidable
+observation of young love had been fatal; he
+declared repeatedly that his faith in the human
+race was about gone.  Furthermore, his physical
+constitution had proved pathetically vulnerable
+to nightly quartets, quintets, and even octets, on
+the porch below his bedchamber window, so that
+he was wont to tell his wife that never, never
+could he expect to be again the man he had been
+in the spring before Miss Pratt came to visit
+May.  And, referring to conversations which he
+almost continuously overheard, perforce, Mr.
+Parcher said that if this was the way HE talked at
+that age, he would far prefer to drown in an
+ordinary fountain, and be dead and done with it,
+than to bathe in Ponce de Leon's.
+
+Altogether, the summer had been a severe one;
+he doubted that he could have survived much
+more of it.  And now that it was virtually over,
+at last, he was so resigned to the departure of his
+daughter's lovely little friend that he felt no
+regret for the splurge with which her visit was
+closing.  Nay, to speed the parting guest--such
+was his lavish mood--twice and thrice over would
+he have paid for the lights, the flowers, the music,
+the sandwiches, the coffee, the chicken salad, the
+cake, the lemonade-punch, and the ice-cream.
+
+Thus did the one thought divide itself
+between William and Mr. Parcher, keeping itself
+deep and pure under all their other thoughts.
+``Miss Pratt is going away!'' thought William
+and Mr. Parcher.  ``Miss PRATT is going away--
+to-morrow!''
+
+The unuttered words advanced tragically
+toward the gate in the head of William at the same
+time that they moved contentedly away in the
+head of Mr. Parcher; for Mr. Parcher caught
+sight of his wife just then, and went to join her
+as she sank wearily upon the front steps.
+
+``Taking a rest for a minute?'' he inquired. 
+``By George! we're both entitled to a good LONG
+rest, after to-night!  If we could afford it, we'd
+go away to a quiet little sanitarium in the hills,
+somewhere, and--''  He ceased to speak and
+there was the renewal of an old bitterness in his
+expression as his staring eyes followed the 
+movements of a stately young form entering the
+gateway.  ``Look at it!'' said Mr. Parcher in a
+whisper.  ``Just look at it!''
+
+``Look at what?'' asked his wife.
+
+``That Baxter boy!'' said Mr. Parcher, as
+William passed on toward the dancers.  ``What's he
+think he's imitating--Henry Irving?  Look at his
+walk!''
+
+``He walks that way a good deal, lately, I've
+noticed,'' said Mrs. Parcher in a tired voice. 
+``So do Joe Bullitt and--''
+
+``He didn't even come to say good evening to
+you,'' Mr. Parcher interrupted.  ``Talk about
+MANNERS, nowadays!  These young--''
+
+``He didn't see us.''
+
+``Well, we're used to that,'' said Mr. Parcher. 
+``None of 'em see us.  They've worn holes in all
+the cane-seated chairs, they've scuffed up the
+whole house, and I haven't been able to sit down
+anywhere down-stairs for three months without
+sitting on some dam boy; but they don't even
+know we're alive!  Well, thank the Lord, it's
+over--after to-night!'' His voice became
+reflective.  ``That Baxter boy was the worst, until
+he took to coming in the daytime when I was
+down-town.  I COULDN'T have stood it if he'd
+kept on coming in the evening.  If I'd had to
+listen to any more of his talking or singing,
+either the embalmer or the lunatic-asylum would
+have had me, sure!  I see he's got hold of his
+daddy's dress-suit again for to-night.''
+
+``Is it Mr. Baxter's dress-suit?'' Mrs. Parcher
+inquired.  ``How do you know?''
+
+Mr. Parcher smiled.  ``How I happen to know
+is a secret,'' he said.  ``I forgot about that.  His
+little sister, Jane, told me that Mrs. Baxter had
+hidden it, or something, so that Willie couldn't
+wear it, but I guess Jane wouldn't mind my telling
+YOU that she told me especially as they're
+letting him use it again to-night.  I suppose he
+feels grander 'n the King o' Siam!''
+
+``No,'' Mrs. Parcher returned, thoughtfully. 
+``I don't think he does, just now.''  Her gaze
+was fixed upon the dancing-platform, which most
+of the dancers were abandoning as the music fell
+away to an interval of silence.  In the center of
+the platform there remained one group, consisting
+of Miss Pratt and five orators, and of the
+orators the most impassioned and gesticulative
+was William.
+
+``They all seem to want to dance with her all
+the time,'' said Mrs. Parcher.  ``I heard her
+telling one of the boys, half an hour ago, that all she
+could give him was either the twenty-eighth regular
+dance or the sixteenth `extra.' ''
+
+``The what?'' Mr. Parcher demanded, whirling
+to face her.  ``Do they think this party's going to
+keep running till day after to-morrow?''  And
+then, as his eyes returned to the group on the
+platform, ``That boy seems to have quite a touch
+of emotional insanity,'' he remarked, referring to
+William.  ``What IS the matter with him?''
+
+``Oh, nothing,'' his wife returned.  ``Only
+trying to arrange a dance with her.  He seems to be
+in difficulties.''
+
+
+
+XXVI
+
+MISS BOKE
+
+Nothing could have been more evident
+than William's difficulties.  They continued
+to exist, with equal obviousness, when the
+group broke up in some confusion, after a few
+minutes of animated discussion; Mr. Wallace
+Banks, that busy and executive youth, bearing
+Miss Pratt triumphantly off to the lemonade-
+punch-bowl, while William pursued Johnnie Watson
+and Joe Bullitt.  He sought to detain them
+near the edge of the platform, though they
+appeared far from anxious to linger in his
+company; and he was able to arrest their attention
+only by clutching an arm of each.  In fact, the
+good feeling which had latterly prevailed among
+these three appeared to be in danger of
+disintegrating.  The occasion was too vital; and the
+watchword for ``Miss Pratt's last night'' was
+Devil-Take-the-Hindmost!
+
+``Now you look here, Johnnie,'' William said,
+vehemently, ``and you listen, too, Joe!  You both
+got seven dances apiece with her, anyway, all on
+account of my not getting here early enough, and
+you got to--''
+
+``It wasn't because of any such reason,'' young
+Mr. Watson protested.  ``I asked her for mine
+two days ago.''
+
+``Well, THAT wasn't fair, was it?'' William cried. 
+``Just because I never thought of sneaking in
+ahead like that, you go and--''
+
+``Well, you ought to thought of it,'' Johnnie
+retorted, jerking his arm free of William's grasp. 
+``I can't stand here GABBIN' all night!''  And he
+hurried away.
+
+``Joe,'' William began, fastening more securely
+upon Mr. Bullitt--``Joe, I've done a good many
+favors for you, and--''
+
+``I've got to see a man,'' Mr. Bullitt
+interrupted.  ``Lemme go, Silly Bill.  There's some
+body I got to see right away before the next
+dance begins.  I GOT to!  Honest I have!''
+
+William seized him passionately by the lapels
+of his coat.  ``Listen, Joe.  For goodness' sake
+can't you listen a MINUTE?  You GOT to give me--''
+
+``Honest, Bill,'' his friend expostulated,
+backing away as forcefully as possible, ``I got to find
+a fellow that's here to-night and ask him about
+something important before--''
+
+``Ye gods!  Can't you wait a MINUTE?'' William
+cried, keeping his grip upon Joe's lapels. 
+``You GOT to give me anyway TWO out of all your
+dances with her!  You heard her tell me, yourself,
+that she'd be willing if you or Johnnie
+or--''
+
+``Well, I only got five or six with her, and a
+couple extras.  Johnnie's got seven.  Whyn't
+you go after Johnnie?  I bet he'd help you out,
+all right, if you kept after him.  What you want
+to pester ME for, Bill?''
+
+The brutal selfishness of this speech, as well as
+its cold-blooded insincerity, produced in William
+the impulse to smite.  Fortunately, his only hope
+lay in persuasion, and after a momentary struggle
+with his own features he was able to conceal
+what he desired to do to Joe's.
+
+He swallowed, and, increasing the affectionate
+desperation of his clutch upon Mr. Bullitt's
+lapels, ``Joe,'' he began, huskily--``Joe, if _I_'d got
+six reg'lar and two extras with Miss Pratt her last
+night here, and you got here late, and it wasn't
+your fault--I couldn't help being late, could I? 
+It wasn't my fault I was late, I guess, was it? 
+Well, if I was in YOUR place I wouldn't act the way
+you and Johnnie do--not in a thousand years I
+wouldn't!  I'd say, `You want a couple o' my
+dances with Miss Pratt, ole man?  Why, CERTAINLY--' ''
+
+``Yes, you would!'' was the cynical comment of
+Mr. Bullitt, whose averted face and reluctant
+shoulders indicated a strong desire to conclude
+the interview.  ``To-night, especially!'' he
+added.
+
+``Look here, Joe,'' said William, desperately,
+``don't you realize that this is the very last night
+Miss Pratt's going to be in this town?''
+
+``You bet I do!''  These words, though vehement,
+were inaudible; being formed in the mind
+of Mr. Bullitt, but, for diplomatic reasons, not
+projected upon the air by his vocal organs.
+
+William continued:  ``Joe, you and I have been
+friends ever since you and I were boys.''  He
+spoke with emotion, but Joe had no appearance
+of being favorably impressed.  ``And when I look
+back,'' said William, ``I expect I've done more
+favors for you than I ever have for any oth--''
+
+But Mr. Bullitt briskly interrupted this
+appealing reminiscence.  ``Listen here, Silly Bill,''
+he said, becoming all at once friendly and
+encouraging--''  Bill, there's other girls here you
+can get dances with.  There's one or two of 'em
+sittin' around in the yard.  You can have a bully
+time, even if you did come late.''  And, with the
+air of discharging happily all the obligations of
+which William had reminded him, he added,
+``I'll tell you THAT much, Bill!''
+
+``Joe, you got to give me anyway ONE da--''
+
+``Look!'' said Mr. Bullitt, eagerly.  ``Look
+sittin' yonder, over under that tree all by herself! 
+That's a visiting girl named Miss Boke; she's
+visiting some old uncle or something she's got
+livin' here, and I bet you could--''
+
+``Joe, you GOT to--''
+
+``I bet that Miss Boke's a good dancer, Bill,''
+Joe continued, warmly.  ``May Parcher says
+so.  She was tryin' to get me to dance with
+her myself, but I couldn't, or I would of. 
+Honest, Bill, I would of!  Bill, if I was you
+I'd sail right in there before anybody else got
+a start, and I'd--''
+
+``Ole man,'' said William, gently, ``you
+remember the time Miss Pratt and I had an
+engagement to go walkin', and you wouldn't of
+seen her for a week on account of your aunt
+dyin' in Kansas City, if I hadn't let you go along
+with us?  Ole man, if you--''
+
+But the music sounded for the next dance, and
+Joe felt that it was indeed time to end this
+uncomfortable conversation.  ``I got to go, Bill,''
+he said.  ``I GOT to!''
+
+``Wait just one minute,'' William implored.
+``I want to say just this: if--''
+
+``Here!'' exclaimed Mr. Bullitt.  ``I got to GO!''
+
+``I know it.  That's why--''
+
+Heedless of remonstrance, Joe wrenched himself
+free, for it would have taken a powerful
+and ruthless man to detain him longer.  ``What
+you take me for?'' he demanded, indignantly. 
+``I got this with Miss PRATT!''
+
+And evading a hand which still sought to
+clutch him, he departed hotly.
+
+. . . Mr. Parcher's voice expressed wonder, a
+little later, as he recommended his wife to turn
+her gaze in the direction of ``that Baxter boy''
+again.  ``Just look at him!'' said Mr. Parcher. 
+``His face has got more genuine idiocy in it than
+I've seen around here yet, and God knows I've
+been seeing some miracles in that line this
+summer!''
+
+``He's looking at Lola Pratt,'' said Mrs.
+Parcher.
+
+``Don't you suppose I can see that?'' Mr.
+Parcher returned, with some irritation.  ``That's
+what's the trouble with him.  Why don't he QUIT
+looking at her?''
+
+``I think probably he feels badly because she's
+dancing with one of the other boys,'' said his
+wife, mildly.
+
+``Then why can't he dance with somebody else
+himself?'' Mr. Parcher inquired, testily.  ``Instead
+of standing around like a calf looking out
+of the butcher's wagon!  By George! he looks
+as if he was just going to MOO!''
+
+``Of course he ought to be dancing with
+somebody,'' Mrs. Parcher remarked, thoughtfully. 
+``There are one or two more girls than boys here,
+and he's the only boy not dancing.  I believe
+I'll--''  And, not stopping to complete the sentence, 
+she rose and walked across the interval of
+grass to William.  ``Good evening, William,'' she
+said, pleasantly.  ``Don't you want to dance?''
+
+``Ma'am?'' said William, blankly, and the eyes
+he turned upon here were glassy with anxiety. 
+He was still determined to dance on and on and
+on with Miss Pratt, but he realized that there
+were great obstacles to be overcome before he
+could begin the process.  He was feverishly
+awaiting the next interregnum between dances--
+then he would show Joe Bullitt and Johnnie
+Watson and Wallace Banks, and some others who
+had set themselves in his way, that he was
+``abs'lutely not goin' to stand it!''
+
+He couldn't stand it, he told himself, even if he
+wanted to--not to-night!  He had ``been through
+enough'' in order to get to the party, he thought,
+thus defining sufferings connected with his costume,
+and now that he was here he WOULD dance
+and dance, on and on, with Miss Pratt. 
+Anything else was unthinkable.
+
+He HAD to!
+
+``Don't you want to dance?'' Mrs. Parcher
+repeated.  ``Have you looked around for a girl
+without a partner?''
+
+He continued to stare at her, plainly having
+no comprehension of her meaning.
+
+``Girl?'' he echoed, in a tone of feeble inquiry.
+
+She smiled and nodded, taking his arm.  ``You
+come with me,'' she said.  ``I'LL fix you up!''
+
+William suffered her to conduct him across
+the yard.  Intensely preoccupied with what he
+meant to do as soon as the music paused, he was
+somewhat hazy, but when he perceived that he
+was being led in the direction of a girl, sitting
+solitary under one of the maple-trees, the sudden
+shock of fear aroused his faculties.
+
+``What--where--'' he stammered, halting and
+seeking to detach himself from his hostess.
+
+``What is it?'' she asked.
+
+``I got--I got to--'' William began, uneasily. 
+``I got to--''
+
+His purpose was to excuse himself on the
+ground that he had to find a man and tell him
+something important before the next dance, for in
+the confusion of the moment his powers refused
+him greater originality.  But the vital part of
+his intended excuse remained unspoken, being
+disregarded and cut short, as millions of other
+masculine diplomacies have been, throughout the
+centuries, by the decisive action of ladies.
+
+Miss Boke had been sitting under the maple-
+tree for a long time--so long, indeed, that she
+was acquiring a profound distaste for forestry
+and even for maple syrup.  In fact, her state of
+mind was as desperate, in its way, as William's;
+and when a hostess leads a youth (in almost 
+perfectly fitting conventional black) toward a girl
+who has been sitting alone through dance after
+dance, that girl knows what that youth is going
+to have to do.
+
+It must be confessed for Miss Boke that her
+eyes had been upon William from the moment
+Mrs. Parcher addressed him.  Nevertheless, as
+the pair came toward her she looked casually
+away in an indifferent manner.  And yet this
+may have been but a seeming unconsciousness,
+for upon the very instant of William's halting,
+and before he had managed to stammer ``I got
+to--'' for the fourth time, Miss Boke sprang to
+her feet and met Mrs. Parcher more than halfway.
+
+``Oh, Mrs. Parcher!'' she called, coming forward.
+
+``I got--'' the panic-stricken William again
+hastily began.  ``I got to--''
+
+``Oh, Mrs. Parcher,'' cried Miss Boke, ``I've
+been SO worried!  There's a candle in that
+Japanese lantern just over your head, and I
+think it's going out.''
+
+``I'll run and get a fresh one in a minute,'' said
+Mrs. Parcher, smiling benevolently and retaining
+William's arm with a little difficulty.  ``We were
+just coming to find you.  I've brought--''
+
+``I got to--I got to find a m--'' William made
+a last, stricken effort.
+
+``Miss Boke, this is Mr. Baxter,'' said Mrs.
+Parcher, and she added, with what seemed to
+William hideous garrulity, ``He and you both
+came late, dear, and he hasn't any dances
+engaged, either.  So run and dance, and have a
+nice time together.''
+
+Thereupon this disastrous woman returned to
+her husband.  Her look was conscientious; she
+thought she had done something pleasant!
+
+The full horror of his position was revealed to
+William in the relieved, confident, proprietor's
+smile of Miss Boke.  For William lived by a code
+from which no previous experience had taught
+him any means of escape.  Mrs. Parcher had
+made the statement--so needless and so ruinous--
+that he had no engagements; and in his dismay
+he had been unable to deny this fatal truth; he
+had been obliged to let it stand.  Henceforth, he
+was committed absolutely to Miss Boke until
+either some one else asked her to dance, or
+(while yet in her close company) William could
+obtain an engagement with another girl.  The
+latter alternative presented certain grave
+difficulties, also contracting William to dance with
+the other girl before once more obtaining his
+freedom, but undeniably he regarded it from the
+first as the more hopeful.
+
+He had to give form to the fatal invitation. 
+``M'av this dance 'thyou?'' he muttered, doggedly.
+
+``Vurry pleased to!'' Miss Boke responded,
+whereupon they walked in silence to the platform,
+stepped upon its surface, and embraced.
+
+They made a false start.
+
+They made another.
+
+They stood swaying to catch the time; then
+made another.  After that they tried again, and
+were saved from a fall only by spasmodic and
+noticeable contortions.
+
+Miss Boke laughed tolerantly, as if forgiving
+William for his awkwardness, and his hot heart
+grew hotter with that injustice.  She was a large,
+ample girl, weighing more than William (this
+must be definitely claimed in his behalf), and she
+had been spending the summer at a lakeside
+hotel where she had constantly danced ``man's
+part.''  To paint William's predicament at a
+stroke, his partner was a determined rather than
+a graceful dancer--and their efforts to attune
+themselves to each other and to the music were
+in a fair way to attract general attention.
+
+A coarse chuckle, a half-suppressed snort,
+assailed William's scarlet ear, and from the corner
+of his eye he caught a glimpse of Joe Bullitt
+gliding by, suffused; while over Joe's detested
+shoulder could be seen the adorable and piquant
+face of the One girl--also suffused.
+
+``Doggone it!'' William panted.
+
+``Oh, you mustn't be discouraged with yourself,'' 
+said Miss Boke, genially.  ``I've met lots
+of Men that had trouble to get started and
+turned out to be right good dancers, after all.  It
+seems to me we're kind of workin' against each
+other.  I'll tell you--you kind of let me do the
+guiding and I'll get you going fine.  Now!  ONE,
+two, ONE, two!  There!''
+
+William ceased to struggle for dominance, and
+their efforts to ``get started'' were at once
+successful.  With a muscular power that was
+surprising, Miss Boke bore him out into the circling
+current, swung him round and round, walked him
+backward half across the platform, then swung
+him round and round and round again.  For a
+girl, she ``guided'' remarkably well; nevertheless,
+a series of collisions, varying in intensity,
+marked the path of the pair upon the rather
+crowded platform.  In such emergencies Miss
+Boke proved herself deft in swinging William to
+act as a buffer, and he several times found himself
+heavily stricken from the rear; anon his face
+would be pressed suffocatingly into Miss Boke's
+hair, without the slightest wish on his part for
+such intimacy.  He had a helpless feeling, fully
+warranted by the circumstances.  Also, he soon
+became aware that Miss Boke's powerful ``guiding''
+was observed by the public; for, after one
+collision, more severe than others, a low voice
+hissed in his ear:
+
+``SHE WON'T HURT YOU MUCH, SILLY BILL.  SHE'S
+ONLY IN FUN!''
+
+This voice belonged to the dancer with whom
+he had just been in painful contact, Johnnie
+Watson.  However, Johnnie had whirled far
+upon another orbit before William found a retort,
+and then it was a feeble one.
+
+``I wish YOU'D try a few dances with her!''
+he whispered, inaudibly, but with unprecedented
+bitterness, as the masterly arm of his partner
+just saved him from going over the edge of the
+platform.  ``I bet she'd kill you!''
+
+More than once he tried to assert himself and
+resume his natural place as guide, but each time
+he did so he immediately got out of step with his
+partner, their knees collided embarrassingly, they
+staggered and walked upon each other's insteps--
+and William was forced to abandon the unequal
+contest.
+
+``I just love dancing,'' said Miss Boke, serenely. 
+``Don't you, Mr. Baxter?''
+
+``What?'' he gulped.  ``Yeh.''
+
+``It's a beautiful floor for dancing, isn't
+it?''
+
+``Yeh.''
+
+``I just love dancing,'' Miss Boke thought
+proper to declare again.  ``Don't you love it, Mr.
+Baxter?''
+
+This time he considered his enthusiasm to be
+sufficiently indicated by a nod.  He needed all
+his breath.
+
+``It's lovely,'' she murmured.  ``I hope they
+don't play `Home, Sweet Home' very early at
+parties in this town.  I could keep on like this
+all night!''
+
+To the gasping William it seemed that she
+already had kept on like this all night, and he
+expressed himself in one great, frank, agonized
+moan of relief when the music stopped.  ``I sh'
+think those musicians 'd be dead!'' he said, as he
+wiped his brow.  And then discovering that May
+Parcher stood at his elbow, he spoke hastily to
+her.  ``M'av the next 'thyou?''
+
+But Miss Parcher had begun to applaud the
+musicians for an encore.  She shook her head. 
+``Next's the third extra,'' she said.  ``And,
+anyhow, this one's going to be encored now.  You can
+have the twenty-second--if there IS any!''
+William threw a wild glance about him, looking
+for other girls, but the tireless orchestra began to
+play the encore, and Miss Boke, who had been
+applauding, instantly cast herself upon his bosom.
+``Come on!'' she cried.  ``Don't let's miss a second
+of it; It's just glorious!''
+
+When the encore was finished she seized William's
+arm, and, mentioning that she'd left her
+fan upon the chair under the maple-tree, added,
+``Come on!  Let's go get it QUICK!''
+
+Under the maple-tree she fanned herself and
+talked of her love for dancing until the music
+sounded again.  ``Come on!'' she cried, then. 
+``Don't let's miss a second of it!  It's just
+glorious!''
+
+And grasping his arm, she propelled him toward
+the platform with a merry little rush.
+
+So passed five dances.  Long, long dances.
+
+Likewise five encores.  Long encores.
+
+
+
+XXVII
+
+MAROONED
+
+At every possible opportunity William hailed
+other girls with a hasty ``M'av the next
+'thyou?'' but he was indeed unfortunate to
+have arrived so late.
+
+The best he got was a promise of ``the nine-
+teenth--if there IS any!''
+
+After each dance Miss Boke conducted him
+back to the maple-tree, aloof from the general
+throng, and William found the intermissions
+almost equal to his martyrdoms upon the platform. 
+But, as there was a barely perceptible balance in
+their favor, he collected some fragments of his
+broken spirit, when Miss Boke would have borne
+him to the platform for the sixth time, and begged
+to ``sit this one out,'' alleging that he had ``kind
+of turned his ankle, or something,'' he believed.
+
+The cordial girl at once placed him upon the
+chair and gallantly procured another for herself. 
+In her solicitude she sat close to him, looking
+fondly at his face, while William, though now
+and then rubbing his ankle for plausibility's sake,
+gazed at the platform with an expression which
+Gustave Dore would gratefully have found
+suggestive.  William was conscious of a voice
+continually in action near him, but not of what it
+said.  Miss Boke was telling him of the dancing
+``up at the lake'' where she had spent the summer,
+and how much she had loved it, but William
+missed all that.  Upon the many-colored platform
+the ineffable One drifted to and fro, back
+and forth; her little blonde head, in a golden net,
+glinting here and there like a bit of tinsel blowing
+across a flower-garden.
+
+And when that dance and its encore were over
+she went to lean against a tree, while Wallace
+Banks fanned her, but she was so busy with
+Wallace that she did not notice William, though
+she passed near enough to waft a breath of
+violet scent to his wan nose.  A fragment of her
+silver speech tinkled in his ear:
+
+``Oh, Wallie Banks!  Bid pid s'ant have
+Bruvva Josie-Joe's dance 'less Joe say so.  Lola
+MUS' be fair.  Wallie mustn't--''
+
+``That's that Miss Pratt,'' observed Miss Boke,
+following William's gaze with some interest. 
+``You met her yet?''
+
+``Yeh,'' said William.
+
+``She's been visiting here all summer,'' Miss
+Boke informed him.  ``I was at a little tea this
+afternoon, and some of the girls said this Miss
+Pratt said she'd never DREAM of getting engaged
+to any man that didn't have seven hundred and
+fifty thousand dollars.  I don't know if it's true
+or not, but I expect so.  Anyway, they said they
+heard her say so.''
+
+William lifted his right hand from his ankle
+and passed it, time after time, across his damp
+forehead.  He did not believe that Miss Pratt
+could have expressed herself in so mercenary a
+manner, but if she HAD--well, one fact in British
+history had so impressed him that he remembered
+it even after Examination: William Pitt, the
+younger, had been Prime Minister of England at
+twenty-one.
+
+If an Englishman could do a thing like that,
+surely a bright, energetic young American needn't
+feel worried about seven hundred and fifty
+thousand dollars!  And although William, at
+seventeen, had seldom possessed more than seven
+hundred and fifty cents, four long years must
+pass, and much could be done, before he would
+reach the age at which William Pitt attained the
+premiership--coincidentally a good, ripe,
+marriageable age.  Still, seven hundred and fifty
+thousand dollars is a stiffish order, even allowing
+four long years to fill it; and undoubtedly Miss
+Boke's bit of gossip added somewhat to the
+already sufficient anxieties of William's evening.
+
+``Up at the lake,'' Miss Boke chattered on,
+``we got to use the hotel dining-room for the
+hops.  It's a floor a good deal like this floor is
+to-night--just about oily enough and as nice a
+floor as ever I danced on.  We have awf'ly good
+times up at the lake.  'Course there aren't so
+many Men up there, like there are here to-night,
+and I MUST say I AM glad to get a chance to dance
+with a Man again!  I told you you'd dance all
+right, once we got started, and look at the way
+it's turned out: our steps just suit exactly!  If I
+must say it, I could scarcely think of anybody I
+EVER met I'd rather dance with.  When anybody's
+step suits in with mine, that way, why, I LOVE to
+dance straight through an evening with one person,
+the way we're doing.''
+
+Dimly, yet with strong repulsion, William
+perceived that their interminable companionship
+had begun to affect Miss Boke with a liking for
+him.  And as she chattered chummily on, revealing
+this increasing cordiality all the while--
+though her more obvious topics were dancing,
+dancing-floors, and ``the lake''--the reciprocal
+sentiment roused in his breast was that of Sindbad
+the Sailor for the Old Man of the Sea.
+
+He was unable to foresee a future apart from
+her; and when she informed him that she preferred
+his style of dancing to all other styles
+shown by the Men at this party, her thus singling
+him out for praise only emphasized, in his mind,,
+that point upon which he was the most embittered.
+
+``Yes!'' he reflected.  ``It had to be ME!'' 
+With all the crowd to choose from, Mrs. Parcher
+had to go and pick on HIM!  All, all the others
+went about, free as air, flitting from girl to girl--
+girls that danced like girls!  All, all except
+William, danced with Miss PRATT!  What Miss Pratt
+had offered HIM was a choice between the thirty-
+second dance and the twenty-first extra.  THAT
+was what he had to look forward to: the thirty-
+second reg'lar or the twenty-first extra!
+
+Meanwhile, merely through eternity, he was
+sealed unto Miss Boke.
+
+The tie that bound them oppressed him as if
+it had been an ill-omened matrimony, and he sat
+beside her like an unwilling old husband.  All
+the while, Miss Boke had no appreciation whatever
+of her companion's real condition, and, when
+little, spasmodic, sinister changes appeared in his
+face (as they certainly did from time to time) she
+attributed them to pains in his ankle.  However,
+William decided to discard his ankle, after they
+had ``sat out'' two dances on account of it.  He
+decided that he preferred dancing, and said he
+guessed he must be better.
+
+So they danced again--and again.
+
+When the fourteenth dance came, about half
+an hour before midnight, they were still dancing
+together.
+
+It was upon the conclusion of this fourteenth
+dance that Mr. Parcher mentioned to his wife a
+change in his feelings toward William.  ``I've
+been watching him,'' said Mr. Parcher, ``and I
+never saw true misery show plainer.  He's having
+a really horrible time.  By George!  I hate him,
+but I've begun to feel kind of sorry for him! 
+Can't you trot up somebody else, so he can get
+away from that fat girl?''
+
+Mrs.  Parcher shook her head in a discouraged
+way.  ``I've tried, and I've tried, and I've tried!''
+she said.
+
+``Well, try again.''
+
+``I can't now.''  She waved her hand toward
+the rear of the house.  Round the corner marched
+a short procession of negroes, bearing trays; and
+the dancers were dispersing themselves to chairs
+upon the lawn ``for refreshments.''
+
+``Well, do something,'' Mr. Parcher urged. 
+``We don't want to find him in the cistern in the
+morning!''
+
+Mrs. Parcher looked thoughtful, then brightened. 
+``_I_ know!'' she said.  ``I'll make May and
+Lola and their partners come sit in this little
+circle of chairs here, and then I'll go and bring
+Willie and Miss Boke to sit with them.  I'll give Willie
+the seat at Lola's left.  You keep the chairs.''
+
+Straightway she sped upon her kindly errand. 
+It proved successful, so successful, indeed, that
+without the slightest effort--without even a hint
+on her part--she brought not only William and
+his constant friend to sit in the circle with Miss
+Pratt, Miss Parcher and their escorts, but Mr.
+Bullitt, Mr. Watson, Mr. Banks, and three other
+young gentlemen as well.  Nevertheless, Mrs.
+Parcher managed to carry out her plan, and
+after a little display of firmness, saw William
+satisfactorily established in the chair at Miss Pratt's
+left.
+
+At last, at last, he sat beside the fairy-like
+creature, and filled his lungs with infinitesimal
+particles of violet scent.  More: he was no sooner
+seated than the little blonde head bent close to
+his; the golden net brushed his cheek.  She
+whispered:
+
+``No'ty ickle boy Batster!  Lola's last night,
+an' ickle boy Batster fluttin'!  Flut all night wif
+dray bid dirl!''
+
+William made no reply.
+
+There are occasions, infrequent, of course,
+when even a bachelor is not flattered by being
+accused of flirting.  William's feelings toward
+Miss Boke had by this time come to such a
+pass that he, regarded the charge of flirting
+with her as little less than an implication of
+grave mental deficiency.  And well he remembered 
+how Miss Pratt, beholding his subjugated
+gymnastics in the dance, had grown pink with
+laughter!  But still the rose-leaf lips whispered:
+
+``Lola saw!  Lola saw bad boy Batster under
+dray bid tree fluttin' wif dray bid dirl.  Fluttin'
+all night wif dray bid 'normous dirl!''
+
+Her cruelty was all unwitting; she intended
+to rally him sweetly.  But seventeen is deathly
+serious at such junctures, and William was in a
+sensitive condition.  He made no reply in words. 
+Instead, he drew himself up (from the waist,
+that is, because he was sitting) with a kind of
+proud dignity.  And that was all.
+
+``Oo tross?'' whispered Lola.
+
+He spake not.
+
+`` 'Twasn't my fault about dancing,'' she said. 
+``Bad boy!  What made you come so late?''
+
+He maintained his silence and the accompanying
+icy dignity, whereupon she made a charming
+little pout.
+
+``Oo be so tross,'' she said, ``Lola talk to nice
+Man uvver side of her!''
+
+With that she turned her back upon him and
+prattled merrily to the gentleman of sixteen upon
+her right.
+
+Still and cold sat William.  Let her talk to the
+Man at the other side of her as she would, and
+never so gaily, William knew that she was conscious
+every instant of the reproachful presence
+upon her left.  And somehow these moments of
+quiet and melancholy dignity became the most
+satisfactory he had known that evening.  For as
+he sat, so silent, so austere, and not yet eating,
+though a plate of chicken salad had been placed
+upon his lap, he began to feel that there was
+somewhere about him a mysterious superiority
+which set him apart from other people--and
+above them.  This quality, indefinable and lofty,
+had carried him through troubles, that very
+night, which would have wrecked the lives of
+such simple fellows as Joe Bullitt and Johnnie
+Watson.  And although Miss Pratt continued
+to make merry with the Man upon her right, it
+seemed to William that this was but outward
+show.  He had a strange, subtle impression that
+the mysterious superiority which set him apart
+from others was becoming perceptible to her--
+that she was feeling it, too.
+
+Alas!  Such are the moments Fate seizes upon
+to play the clown!
+
+Over the chatter and laughter of the guests
+rose a too familiar voice.  ``Lemme he'p you to
+nice tongue samwich, lady.  No'm?  Nice green
+lettuce samwich, lady?''
+
+Genesis!
+
+``Nice tongue samwich, suh?  Nice lettuce
+samwich, lady?'' he could be heard vociferating--
+perhaps a little too much as if he had
+sandwiches for sale.  ``Lemme jes' lay this nice
+green lettuce samwich on you' plate fer you,
+
+His wide-spread hand bore the tray of
+sandwiches high overhead, for his style in waiting
+was florid, though polished.  He walked with a
+faint, shuffling suggestion of a prance, a lissome
+pomposity adopted in obedience to the art-sense
+within him which bade him harmonize himself
+with occasions of state and fashion.  His manner
+was the super-supreme expression of graciousness,
+but the graciousness was innocent, being but an
+affectation and nothing inward--for inwardly
+Genesis was humble.  He was only pretending to
+be the kind of waiter he would like to be.
+
+And because he was a new waiter he strongly
+wished to show familiarity with his duties--
+familiarity, in fact, with everything and everybody. 
+This yearning, born of self-doubt, and intensified
+by a slight touch of gin, was beyond question
+the inspiration of his painful behavior when
+he came near the circle of chairs where sat Mr.
+and Mrs. Parcher, Miss Parcher, Miss Pratt,
+Miss Boke, Mr. Watson, Mr. Bullitt, others--and
+William.
+
+``Nice tongue samwich, lady!'' he announced,
+semi-cake-walking beneath his high-borne tray.
+
+Nice green lettuce sam--''  He came suddenly
+to a dramatic dead-stop as he beheld William
+sitting before him, wearing that strange new
+dignity and Mr. Baxter's evening clothes.  ``Name
+o' goo'ness!'' Genesis exclaimed, so loudly that
+every one looked up.  ``How in the livin' worl'
+you evuh come to git here?  You' daddy sut'ny
+mus' 'a' weakened 'way down 'fo' he let you
+wear his low-cut ves' an' pants an' long-tail
+coat!  I bet any man fifty cents you gone an'
+stole 'em out aftuh he done went to bed!''
+
+And he burst into a wild, free African laugh.
+
+At seventeen such things are not embarrassing;
+they are catastrophical.  But, mercifully,
+catastrophes often produce a numbness in the
+victims.  More as in a trance than actually
+William heard the outbreak of his young
+companions; and, during the quarter of an hour
+subsequent to Genesis's performance, the oft-
+renewed explosions of their mirth made but a
+kind of horrid buzzing in his ears.  Like sounds
+borne from far away were the gaspings of Mr.
+and Mrs. Parcher, striving with all their strength
+to obtain mastery of themselves once more.
+
+. . . A flourish of music challenged the
+dancers.  Couples appeared upon the platform.
+
+The dreadful supper was over.
+
+The ineffable One, supremely pink, rose from
+her seat at William's side and moved toward the
+platform with the glowing Joe Bullitt.  Then
+William, roused to action by this sight, sprang
+to his feet and took a step toward them.  But
+it was only one weak step.
+
+A warm and ample hand placed itself firmly
+inside the crook of his elbow.  ``Let's get started
+for this one before the floor gets all crowded
+up,'' said Miss Boke.
+
+Miss Boke danced and danced with him; she
+danced him on--and on--and on----
+
+At half past one the orchestra played ``Home,
+Sweet Home.''  As the last bars sounded, a
+group of earnest young men who had surrounded
+the lovely guest of honor, talking vehemently,
+broke into loud shouts, embraced one another and
+capered variously over the lawn.  Mr. Parcher
+beheld from a distance these manifestations, and
+then, with an astonishment even more profound,
+took note of the tragic William, who was running
+toward him, radiant--Miss Boke hovering futilely
+in the far background.
+
+``What's all the hullabaloo?'' Mr. Parcher inquired.
+
+``Miss Pratt!'' gasped William.  ``Miss Pratt!''
+
+``Well, what about her?''
+
+And upon receiving William's reply, Mr.
+Parcher might well have discerned behind it the
+invisible hand of an ironic but recompensing
+Providence making things even--taking from the
+one to give to the other.
+
+``She's going to stay!'' shouted the happy
+William.  ``She's promised to stay another
+week!''
+
+And then, mingling with the sounds of
+rejoicing, there ascended to heaven the stricken
+cry of an elderly man plunging blindly into the
+house in search of his wife.
+
+
+
+XXVIII
+
+RANNIE KIRSTED
+
+Observing the monotonously proper behavior
+of the sun, man had an absurd idea
+and invented Time.  Becoming still more absurd,
+man said, ``So much shall be a day; such and
+such shall be a week.  All weeks shall be the same
+length.''  Yet every baby knows better!  How
+long for Johnnie Watson, for Joe Bullitt, for
+Wallace Banks--how long for William Sylvanus
+Baxter was the last week of Miss Pratt?  No one
+can answer.  How long was that week for Mr.
+Parcher?  Again the mind is staggered.
+
+Many people, of course, considered it to be a
+week of average size.  Among these was Jane.
+
+Throughout seven days which brought some
+tense moments to the Baxter household, Jane
+remained calm; and she was still calm upon the
+eighth morning as she stood in the front yard of
+her own place of residence, gazing steadily across
+the street.  The object of her grave attention
+was an ample brick house, newly painted white
+after repairs and enlargements so inspiring to 
+Jane's faculty for suggesting better ways of
+doing things, that the workmen had learned to
+address her, with a slight bitterness, as ``Madam
+President.''
+
+Throughout the process of repair, and until the
+very last of the painting, Jane had considered this
+house to be as much her property as anybody's;
+for children regard as ownerless all vacant houses
+and all houses in course of construction or radical
+alteration.  Nothing short of furniture--intimate
+furniture in considerable quantity--hints that
+the public is not expected.  However, such a
+hint, or warning, was conveyed to Jane this
+morning, for two ``express wagons'' were standing
+at the curb with their backs impolitely toward
+the brick house; and powerful-voiced men
+went surging to and fro under fat arm-chairs,
+mahogany tables, disarticulated bedsteads, and
+baskets of china and glassware; while a harassed
+lady appeared in the outer doorway, from time
+to time, with gestures of lamentation and
+entreaty.  Upon the sidewalk, between the wagons
+and the gate, was a broad wet spot, vaguely
+circular, with a partial circumference of broken
+glass and extinct goldfish.
+
+Jane was forced to conclude that the brick
+house did belong to somebody, after all.  Wherefore,
+she remained in her own yard, a steadfast
+spectator, taking nourishment into her system
+at regular intervals.  This was beautifully
+automatic: in each hand she held a slice of bread,
+freely plastered over with butter, apple sauce, and
+powdered sugar; and when she had taken somewhat
+from the right hand, that hand slowly
+descended with its burden, while, simultaneously,
+the left began to rise, reaching the level of her
+mouth precisely at the moment when a little
+wave passed down her neck, indicating that the
+route was clear.  Then, having made delivery,
+the left hand sank, while the right began to rise
+again.  And, so well had custom trained Jane's
+members, never once did she glance toward either
+of these faithful hands or the food that it
+supported; her gaze was all the while free to remain
+upon the house across the way and the great
+doings before it.
+
+After a while, something made her wide eyes
+grow wider almost to their utmost.  Nay, the
+event was of that importance her mechanical
+hands ceased to move and stopped stock-still,
+the right half-way up, the left half-way down, as if
+because of sudden motor trouble within Jane. 
+Her mouth was equally affected, remaining open
+at a visible crisis in the performance of its duty. 
+These were the tokens of her agitation upon
+beholding the removal of a dolls' house from one of
+the wagons.  This dolls' house was at least five
+feet high, of proportionate breadth and depths
+the customary absence of a facade disclosing an
+interior of four luxurious floors, with stairways,
+fireplaces, and wall-paper.  Here was a mansion
+wherein doll-duchesses, no less, must dwell.
+
+Straightway, a little girl ran out of the open
+doorway of the brick house and, with a self-
+importance concentrated to the point of shrewishness,
+began to give orders concerning the disposal
+of her personal property, which included (as she
+made clear) not only the dolls' mansion, but also
+three dolls' trunks and a packing-case of fair
+size.  She was a thin little girl, perhaps half a
+year younger than Jane; and she was as soiled,
+particularly in respect to hands, brow, chin, and
+the knees of white stockings, as could be expected
+of any busybodyish person of nine or ten whose
+mother is house-moving.  But she was gifted--
+if we choose to put the matter in the hopeful,
+sweeter way--she was gifted with an unusually
+loud and shrill voice, and she made herself
+heard over the strong-voiced men to such emphatic
+effect that one of the latter, with the dolls'
+mansion upon his back, paused in the gateway
+to acquaint her with his opinion that of all
+the bossy little girls he had ever seen, heard, or
+heard of, she was the bossiest.
+
+``THE worst!'' he added.
+
+The little girl across the street was of course
+instantly aware of Jane, though she pretended
+not to be; and from the first her self-importance
+was in large part assumed for the benefit of the
+observer.  After a momentary silence, due to her
+failure to think of any proper response to the
+workman who so pointedly criticized her, she
+resumed the peremptory direction of her affairs. 
+She ran in and out of the house, her brow dark
+with frowns, her shoulders elevated; and by
+every means at her disposal she urged her audience
+to behold the frightful responsibilities of
+one who must keep a thousand things in her head
+at once, and yet be ready for decisive action at
+any instant.
+
+There may have been one weakness in this
+strong performance: the artistic sincerity of it
+was a little discredited by the increasing
+frequency with which the artist took note of her
+effect.  During each of her most impressive
+moments, she flashed, from the far corner of her eye,
+two questions at Jane:  ``How about THAT one? 
+Are you still watching Me?''
+
+Then, apparently in the very midst of her
+cares, she suddenly and without warning ceased
+to boss, walked out into the street, halted, and
+stared frankly at Jane.
+
+Jane had begun her automatic feeding again. 
+She continued it, meanwhile seriously returning
+the stare of the new neighbor.  For several minutes
+this mutual calm and inoffensive gaze was
+protracted; then Jane, after swallowing the last
+morsel of her supplies, turned her head away and
+looked at a tree.  The little girl, into whose eyes
+some wistfulness had crept, also turned her head
+and looked at a tree.  After a while, she advanced
+to the curb on Jane's side of the street, and,
+swinging her right foot, allowed it to kick the
+curbstone repeatedly.
+
+Jane came out to the sidewalk and began to
+kick one of the fence-pickets.
+
+``You see that ole fatty?'' asked the little girl,
+pointing to one of the workmen, thus sufficiently
+identified.
+
+``Yes.''
+
+``That's the one broke the goldfish,'' said the
+little girl.  There was a pause during which she
+continued to scuff the curbstone with her shoe,
+Jane likewise scuffing the fence-picket.  ``I'm
+goin' to have papa get him arrested,'' added the
+stranger.
+
+``My papa got two men arrested once,'' Jane
+said, calmly.  ``Two or three.''
+
+The little girl's eyes, wandering upward, took
+note of Jane's papa's house, and of a fierce young
+gentleman framed in an open window up-stairs. 
+He was seated, wore ink upon his forehead, and
+tapped his teeth with a red penholder.
+
+``Who is that?'' she asked.
+
+``It's Willie.''
+
+``Is it your papa?''
+
+``NO-O-O-O!'' Jane exclaimed.  ``It's WILLIE!''
+
+``Oh,'' said the little girl, apparently satisfied.
+
+Each now scuffed less energetically with her
+shoe; feet slowed down; so did conversation, and,
+for a time, Jane and the stranger wrapped themselves
+in stillness, though there may have been
+some silent communing between them.  Then the
+new neighbor placed her feet far apart and
+leaned backward upon nothing, curving her front
+outward and her remarkably flexible spine inward
+until a profile view of her was grandly semicircular.
+
+Jane watched her attentively, but without
+comment.  However, no one could have doubted that
+the processes of acquaintance were progressing
+favorably.
+
+``Let's go in our yard,'' said Jane.
+
+The little girl straightened herself with a slight
+gasp, and accepted the invitation.  Side by side,
+the two passed through the open gate, walked
+gravely forth upon the lawn, and halted, as by
+common consent.  Jane thereupon placed her
+feet wide apart and leaned backward upon nothing,
+attempting the feat in contortion just
+performed by the stranger.
+
+``Look,'' she said.  ``Look at ME!''
+
+But she lacked the other's genius, lost her
+balance, and fell.  Born persistent, she 
+immediately got to her feet and made fresh efforts.
+
+``No!  Look at ME!'' the little girl cried,
+becoming semicircular again.  ``This is the way. 
+I call it `puttin' your stummick out o' joint.' 
+You haven't got yours out far enough.''
+
+``Yes, I have,'' said Jane, gasping.
+
+``Well, to do it right, you must WALK that way.
+As soon as you get your stummick out o' joint,
+you must begin an' walk.  Look!  Like this.'' 
+And the little girl, having achieved a state of
+such convexity that her braided hair almost
+touched the ground behind her, walked
+successfully in that singular attitude.
+
+``I'm walkin','' Jane protested, her face not
+quite upside down.  ``Look!  I'M walkin' that
+way, too.  My stummick--''
+
+There came an outraged shout from above, and
+a fierce countenance, stained with ink, protruded
+from the window.
+
+``Jane!''
+
+``What?''
+
+``Stop that!  Stop putting your stomach out
+in front of you like that!  It's disgraceful!''
+
+Both young ladies, looking rather oppressed,
+resumed the perpendicular.  ``Why doesn't he like
+it?'' the stranger asked in a tone of pure wonder.
+
+``I don't know,'' said Jane.  ``He doesn't like
+much of anything.  He's seventeen years old.''
+
+After that, the two stared moodily at the
+ground for a little while, chastened by the severe
+presence above; then Jane brightened.
+
+``_I_ know!'' she exclaimed, cozily.  ``Let's play
+callers.  Right here by this bush 'll be my house. 
+You come to call on me, an' we'll talk about our
+chuldren.  You be Mrs. Smith an' I'm Mrs.
+Jones.''  And in the character of a hospitable
+matron she advanced graciously toward the new
+neighbor.  ``Why, my dear Mrs. SMITH, come
+right IN!  I THOUGHT you'd call this morning.  I
+want to tell you about my lovely little daughter. 
+She's only ten years old, an' says the brightest
+THINGS!  You really must--''
+
+But here Jane interrupted herself abruptly,
+and, hopping behind the residential bush, peeped
+over it, not at Mrs. Smith, but at a boy of ten or
+eleven who was passing along the sidewalk. 
+Her expression was gravely interested, somewhat
+complacent; and Mrs. Smith was not so lacking
+in perception that she failed to understand how
+completely--for the time being, at least--calling
+was suspended.
+
+The boy whistled briskly, ``My country, 'tis
+of thee,'' and though his knowledge of the
+air failed him when he finished the second line,
+he was not disheartened, but began at the
+beginning again, continuing repeatedly after this
+fashion to offset monotony by patriotism.  He
+whistled loudly; he walked with ostentatious
+intent to be at some heavy affair in the distance;
+his ears were red.  He looked neither to the right
+nor to the left.
+
+That is, he looked neither to the right nor to
+the left until he had passed the Baxters' fence. 
+But when he had gone as far as the upper corner
+of the fence beyond, he turned his head and
+looked back, without any expression--except that
+of a whistler--at Jane.  And thus, still whistling
+``My country, 'tis of thee,'' and with blank pink
+face over his shoulder, he proceeded until he was
+out of sight.
+
+``Who was that boy?'' the new neighbor then
+inquired.
+
+``It's Freddie,'' said Jane, placidly.  ``He's in
+our Sunday-school.  He's in love of me.''
+
+``JANE!''
+
+Again the outraged and ink-stained countenance
+glared down from the window.
+
+``What you want?'' Jane asked.
+
+``What you MEAN talking about such things?''
+William demanded.  ``In all my life I never
+heard anything as disgusting!  Shame on you!''
+
+The little girl from across the street looked
+upward thoughtfully.  ``He's mad,'' she
+remarked, and, regardless of Jane's previous
+information, ``It IS your papa, isn't it?'' she
+insisted.
+
+``No!'' said Jane, testily.  ``I told you five
+times it's my brother Willie.''
+
+``Oh!'' said the little girl, and, grasping the fact
+that William's position was, in dignity and
+authority, negligible, compared with that which she
+had persisted in imagining, she felt it safe to tint
+her upward gaze with disfavor.  ``He acts kind
+of crazy,'' she murmured.
+
+``He's in love of Miss Pratt,'' said Jane. 
+``She's goin' away to-day.  She said she'd go
+before, but to-day she IS!  Mr. Parcher, where
+she visits, he's almost dead, she's stayed so long. 
+She's awful, I think.''
+
+William, to whom all was audible, shouted,
+hoarsely, ``I'll see to YOU!'' and disappeared from
+the window.
+
+``Will he come down here?'' the little girl
+asked, taking a step toward the gate.
+
+``No.  He's just gone to call mamma.  All
+she'll do' ll be to tell us to go play somewheres
+else.  Then we can go talk to Genesis.''
+
+``Who?''
+
+``Genesis.  He's puttin' a load of coal in the
+cellar window with a shovel.  He's nice.''
+
+``What's he put the coal in the window
+for?''
+
+``He's a colored man,'' said Jane.
+
+``Shall we go talk to him now?''
+
+``No,'' Jane said, thoughtfully.  ``Let's be
+playin' callers when mamma comes to tell us to
+go 'way.  What was your name?''
+
+``Rannie.''
+
+``No, it wasn't.''
+
+``It is too, Rannie,'' the little girl insisted. 
+``My whole name's Mary Randolph Kirsted, but
+my short name's Rannie.''
+
+Jane laughed.  ``What a funny name!'' she
+said.  ``I didn't mean your real name; I meant
+your callers' name.  One of us was Mrs. Jones,
+and one was--''
+
+``I want to be Mrs. Jones,'' said Rannie.
+
+``Oh, my DEAR Mrs. Jones,'' Jane began at
+once, ``I want to tell you about my lovely
+chuldren.  I have two, one only seven years old, and
+the other--''
+
+``Jane!'' called Mrs. Baxter from William's
+window.
+
+``Yes'm?''
+
+``You must go somewhere else to play.  Willie's
+trying to work at his studies up here, and he says
+you've disturbed him very much.''
+
+``Yes'm.''
+
+The obedient Jane and her friend turned to go,
+and as they went, Miss Mary Randolph Kirsted
+allowed her uplifted eyes to linger with increased
+disfavor upon William, who appeared beside
+Mrs. Baxter at the window.
+
+``I tell you what let's do,'' Rannie suggested in
+a lowered voice.  ``He got so fresh with us, an'
+made your mother come, an' all, let's--let's--''
+
+She hesitated.
+
+``Let's what?'' Jane urged her, in an eager
+whisper.
+
+``Let's think up somep'n he won't like--an'
+DO it!''
+
+They disappeared round a corner of the house,
+their heads close together.
+
+
+
+XXIX
+
+``DON'T FORGET!''
+
+Up-stairs, Mrs. Baxter moved to the door
+of her son's room, pretending to be unconscious
+of the gaze he maintained upon her.  Mustering
+courage to hum a little tune and affecting
+inconsequence, she had nearly crossed the
+threshold when he said, sternly:
+
+``And this is all you intend to say to that
+child?''
+
+``Why, yes, Willie.''
+
+``And yet I told you what she said!'' he cried. 
+``I told you I HEARD her stand there and tell that
+dirty-faced little girl how that idiot boy that's
+always walkin' past here four or five times a
+day, whistling and looking back, was in `love
+of' her!  Ye gods!  What kind of a person will
+she grow up into if you don't punish her for
+havin' ideas like that at her age?''
+
+Mrs. Baxter regarded him mildly, not replying,
+and he went on, with loud indignation:
+
+``I never heard of such a thing!  That Worm
+walkin' past here four or five times a day just to
+look at JANE!  And her standing there, calmly
+tellin' that sooty-faced little girl, `He's in love of
+me'!  Why, it's enough to sicken a man!  Honestly,
+if I had my way, I'd see that both she and
+that little Freddie Banks got a first-class whipping!''
+
+``Don't you think, Willie,'' said Mrs. Baxter--
+``don't you think that, considering the rather
+noncommittal method of Freddie's courtship, you are
+suggesting extreme measures?''
+
+``Well, SHE certainly ought to be punished!'' he
+insisted, and then, with a reversal to agony, he
+shuddered.  ``That's the least of it!'' he cried. 
+``It's the insulting things you always allow her to
+say of one of the noblest girls in the United
+States--THAT'S what counts!  On the very last
+day--yes, almost the last hour--that Miss Pratt's
+in this town, you let your only daughter stand
+there and speak disrespectfully of her--and then
+all you do is tell her to `go and play somewhere
+else'!  I don't understand your way of bringing
+up a child,'' he declared, passionately.  ``I do
+NOT!''
+
+``There, there, Willie,'' Mrs. Baxter said. 
+``You're all wrought up--''
+
+``I am NOT wrought up!'' shouted William. 
+``Why should I be charged with--''
+
+``Now, now!'' she said.  ``You'll feel better to-morrow.''
+
+``What do you mean by that?'' he demanded,
+breathing deeply.
+
+For reply she only shook her head in an odd
+little way, and in her parting look at him there
+was something at once compassionate, amused,
+and reassuring.
+
+``You'll be all right, Willie,'' she said, softly,
+and closed the door.
+
+Alone, William lifted clenched hands in a series
+of tumultuous gestures at the ceiling; then he
+moaned and sank into a chair at his writing-
+table.  Presently a comparative calm was
+restored to him, and with reverent fingers he took
+from a drawer a one-pound box of candy, covered
+with white tissue-paper, girdled with blue ribbon. 
+He set the box gently beside him upon the table;
+then from beneath a large, green blotter drew
+forth some scribbled sheets.  These he placed
+before him, and, taking infinite pains with his
+handwriting, slowly copied:
+
+
+DEAR LOLA--I presume when you are reading these lines
+it will be this afternoon and you will be on the train moving
+rapidly away from this old place here farther and farther
+from it all.  As I sit here at my old desk and look back
+upon it all while I am writing this farewell letter I hope when
+you are reading it you also will look back upon it all and
+think of one you called (Alias) Little Boy Baxter.  As I
+sit here this morning that you are going away at last I
+look back and I cannot rember any summer in my whole
+life which has been like this summer, because a great change
+has come over me this summer.  If you would like to know
+what this means it was something like I said when John
+Watson got there yesterday afternoon and interupted
+what I said.  May you enjoy this candy and think of the
+giver.  I will put something in with this letter.  It is
+something maybe you would like to have and in exchange
+I would give all I possess for one of you if you would send
+it to me when you get home.  Please do this for now my
+heart is braking.
+                              Yours sincerely,
+          WILLIAM S. BAXTER (ALIAS) LITTLE BOY BAXTER.
+
+
+William opened the box of candy and placed
+the letter upon the top layer of chocolates.  Upon
+the letter he placed a small photograph (wrapped
+in tissue-paper) of himself.  Then, with a pair of
+scissors, he trimmed an oblong of white cardboard
+to fit into the box.  Upon this piece of
+cardboard he laboriously wrote, copying from a
+tortured, inky sheet before him:
+
+                    IN DREAM
+               BY WILLIAM S. BAXTER
+
+The sunset light
+Fades into night
+But never will I forget
+The smile that haunts me yet
+Through the future four long years
+I hope you will remember with tears
+Whate'er my rank or station
+Whilst receiving my education
+Though far away you seem
+I will see thee in dream.
+
+
+He placed his poem between the photograph
+and the letter, closed the box, and tied the tissue-
+paper about it again with the blue ribbon.
+Throughout these rites (they were rites both in
+spirit and in manner) he was subject to little
+catchings of the breath, half gulp, half sigh. 
+But the dolorous tokens passed, and he sat with
+elbows upon the table, his chin upon his hands,
+reverie in his eyes.  Tragedy had given way to
+gentler pathos;--beyond question, something had
+measurably soothed him.  Possibly, even in this
+hour preceding the hour of parting, he knew a
+little of that proud amazement which any poet
+is entitled to feel over each new lyric miracle
+just wrought.
+
+Perhaps he was helped, too, by wondering what
+Miss Pratt would think of him when she read ``In
+Dream,'' on the train that afternoon.  For reasons
+purely intuitive, and decidedly without foundation
+in fact, he was satisfied that no rival
+farewell poem would be offered her, and so it may
+be that he thought ``In Dream'' might show her
+at last, in one blaze of light, what her eyes had
+sometimes fleetingly intimated she did perceive
+in part--the difference between William and
+such every-day, rather well-meaning, fairly good-
+hearted people as Joe Bullitt, Wallace Banks,
+Johnnie Watson, and others.  Yes, when she
+came to read ``In Dream,'' and to ``look back
+upon it all,'' she would surely know--at last!
+
+And then, when the future four long years
+(while receiving his education) had passed, he
+would go to her.  He would go to her, and she
+would take him by the hand, and lead him to her
+father, and say, ``Father, this is William.''
+
+But William would turn to her, and, with the
+old, dancing light in his eyes, ``No, Lola,'' he
+would say, ``not William, but Ickle Boy Baxter! 
+Always and always, just that for you; oh, my
+dear!''
+
+And then, as in story and film and farce and
+the pleasanter kinds of drama, her father would
+say, with kindly raillery, ``Well, when you two
+young people get through, you'll find me in the
+library, where I have a pretty good BUSINESS
+proposition to lay before YOU, young man!''
+
+And when the white-waistcoated, white-side-
+burned old man had, chuckling, left the room,
+William would slowly lift his arms; but Lola
+would move back from him a step--only a step--
+and after laying a finger archly upon her lips to
+check him, ``Wait, sir!'' she would say.  ``I have
+a question to ask you, sir!''
+
+``What question, Lola?''
+
+``THIS question, sir!'' she would reply.  ``In all
+that summer, sir, so long ago, why did you never
+tell me what you WERE, until I had gone away and
+it was too late to show you what I felt?  Ah,
+Ickle Boy Baxter, I never understood until I
+looked back upon it all, after I had read `In
+Dream,' on the train that day!  THEN I KNEW!'' 
+``And now, Lola?'' William would say.  ``Do
+you understand me, NOW?''
+
+Shyly she would advance the one short step
+she had put between them, while he, with lifted,
+yearning arms, this time destined to no
+disappointment----
+
+At so vital a moment did Mrs. Baxter knock at
+his door and consoling reverie cease to minister
+unto William.  Out of the rosy sky he dropped,
+falling miles in an instant, landing with a bump. 
+He started, placed the sacred box out of sight,
+and spoke gruffly.
+
+``What you want?''
+
+``I'm not coming in, Willie,'' said his mother.
+``I just wanted to know--I thought maybe you
+were looking out of the window and noticed where
+those children went.''
+
+``What children?''
+
+``Jane and that little girl from across the
+street--Kirsted, her name must be.''
+
+``No.  I did not.''
+
+``I just wondered,'' Mrs. Baxter said, timidly. 
+``Genesis thinks he heard the little Kirsted girl
+telling Jane she had plenty of money for car-
+fare.  He thinks they went somewhere on a
+street-car.  I thought maybe you noticed
+wheth--''
+
+``I told you I did not.''
+
+``All right,'' she said, placatively.  ``I didn't
+mean to bother you, dear.''
+
+Following this there was a silence; but no
+sound of receding footsteps indicated Mrs.
+Baxter's departure from the other side of the
+closed door.
+
+``Well, what you WANT?'' William shouted.
+
+``Nothing--nothing at all,'' said the compassionate
+voice.  ``I just thought I'd have lunch a
+little later than usual; not till half past one. 
+That is if--well, I thought probably you meant
+to go to the station to see Miss Pratt off on the
+one-o'clock train.''
+
+Even so friendly an interest as this must have
+appeared to the quivering William an intrusion in
+his affairs, for he demanded, sharply:
+
+``How'd you find out she's going at one
+o'clock?''
+
+``Why--why, Jane mentioned it,'' Mrs. Baxter
+replied, with obvious timidity.  ``Jane said--''
+
+She was interrupted by the loud, desperate
+sound of William's fist smiting his writing-table,
+so sensitive was his condition.  ``This is just
+unbearable!'' he cried.  ``Nobody's business is safe
+from that child!''
+
+``Why, Willie, I don't see how it matters if--''
+
+He uttered a cry.  ``No!  Nothing matters! 
+Nothing matters at all!  Do you s'pose I want
+that child, with her insults, discussing when Miss
+Pratt is or is not going away?  Don't you know
+there are SOME things that have no business to be
+talked about by every Tom, Dick, and Harry?''
+
+``Yes, dear,'' she said.  ``I understand, of
+course.  Jane only told me she met Mr. Parcher
+on the street, and he mentioned that Miss Pratt
+was going at one o'clock to-day.  That's all
+I--''
+
+``You say you understand,'' he wailed, shaking
+his head drearily at the closed door, ``and yet,
+even on such a day as this, you keep TALKING! 
+Can't you see sometimes there's times when a
+person can't stand to--''
+
+``Yes, Willie,'' Mrs. Baxter interposed,
+hurriedly.  ``Of course!  I'm going now.  I have
+to go hunt up those children, anyway.  You try
+to be back for lunch at half past one--and don't
+worry, dear; you really WILL be all right!''
+
+She departed, a sigh from the abyss following
+her as she went down the hall.  Her comforting
+words meant nothing pleasant to her son, who
+felt that her optimism was out of place and
+tactless.  He had no intention to be ``all right,'' and
+he desired nobody to interfere with his misery.
+
+He went to his mirror, and, gazing long--long
+and piercingly--at the William there limned, enacted,
+almost unconsciously, a little scene of parting. 
+The look of suffering upon the mirrored face
+slowly altered; in its place came one still 
+sorrowful, but tempered with sweet indulgence.  He
+stretched out his hand, as if he set it upon a head
+at about the height of his shoulder.
+
+``Yes, it may mean--it may mean forever!''
+he said in a low, tremulous voice.  ``Little girl,
+we MUST be brave!''
+
+And the while his eyes gazed into the mirror,
+they became expressive of a momentary pleased
+surprise, as if, even in the arts of sorrow, he
+found himself doing better than he knew.  But his
+sorrow was none the less genuine because of that.
+
+Then he noticed the ink upon his forehead, and
+went away to wash.  When he returned he did
+an unusual thing--he brushed his coat thoroughly,
+removing it for this special purpose. 
+After that, he earnestly combed and brushed his
+hair, and retied his tie.  Next, he took from a
+drawer two clean handkerchiefs.  He placed one
+in his breast pocket, part of the colored border
+of the handkerchief being left on exhibition,
+and with the other he carefully wiped his shoes. 
+Finally, he sawed it back and forth across them,
+and, with a sigh, languidly dropped it upon the
+floor, where it remained.
+
+Returning to the mirror, he again brushed his
+hair--he went so far, this time, as to brush his
+eyebrows, which seemed not much altered by the
+operation.  Suddenly, he was deeply affected by
+something seen in the glass.
+
+``By George!'' he exclaimed aloud.
+
+Seizing a small hand-mirror, he placed it in
+juxtaposition to his right eye, and closely studied
+his left profile as exhibited in the larger mirror. 
+Then he examined his right profile, subjecting it
+to a like scrutiny emotional, yet attentive and
+prolonged.
+
+``By George!'' he exclaimed, again.  ``By
+George!''
+
+He had made a discovery.  There was a downy
+shadow upon his upper lip.  What he had just
+found out was that this down could be seen
+projecting beyond the line of his lip, like a tiny
+nimbus.  It could be seen in PROFILE.
+
+``By GEORGE!'' William exclaimed.
+
+He was still occupied with the two mirrors when
+his mother again tapped softly upon his door,
+rousing him as from a dream (brief but engaging)
+to the heavy realities of that day.
+
+``What you want now?''
+
+``I won't come in,'' said Mrs. Baxter.  ``I just
+came to see.''
+
+``See what?''
+
+``I wondered--  I thought perhaps you needed
+something.  I knew your watch was out of
+order--''
+
+``F'r 'evan's sake what if it is?''
+
+She offered a murmur of placative laughter as
+her apology, and said:  ``Well, I just thought
+I'd tell you--because if you did intend going
+to the station, I thought you probably wouldn't
+want to miss it and get there too late.  I've got
+your hat here all nicely brushed for you. It's
+nearly twenty minutes of one, Willie.''
+
+``WHAT?''
+
+``Yes, it is.  It's--''
+
+She had no further speech with him.
+
+Breathless, William flung open his door, seized
+the hat, racketed down the stairs, and out
+through the front door, which he left open behind
+him.  Eight seconds later he returned at a gallop,
+hurtled up the stairs and into his room, emerging
+instantly with something concealed under his
+coat.  Replying incoherently to his mother's
+inquiries, he fell down the stairs as far as the
+landing, used the impetus thus given as a help
+to greater speed for the rest of the descent--and
+passed out of hearing.
+
+Mrs. Baxter sighed, and went to a window
+in her own room, and looked out.
+
+William was already more than half-way to
+the next corner, where there was a car-line
+that ran to the station; but the distance was
+not too great for Mrs. Baxter to comprehend the
+nature of the symmetrical white parcel now carried
+in his right hand.  Her face became pensive
+as she gazed after the flying slender figure:--there
+came to her mind the recollection of a seventeen-
+year-old boy who had brought a box of candy (a
+small one, like William's) to the station, once,
+long ago, when she had been visiting in another
+town.  For just a moment she thought of that
+boy she had known, so many years ago, and a
+smile came vaguely upon her lips.  She wondered
+what kind of a woman he had married, and how
+many children he had--and whether he was a
+widower----
+
+The fleeting recollection passed; she turned
+from the window and shook her head, puzzled.
+
+``Now where on earth could Jane and that
+little Kirsted girl have gone?'' she murmured.
+
+. . . At the station, William, descending from
+the street-car, found that he had six minutes to
+spare.  Reassured of so much by the great clock
+in the station tower, he entered the building, and,
+with calm and dignified steps, crossed the large
+waiting-room.  Those calm and dignified steps
+were taken by feet which little betrayed the
+tremulousness of the knees above them.  Moreover,
+though William's face was red, his expression--
+cold, and concentrated upon high matters
+--scorned the stranger, and warned the lower
+classes that the mission of this bit of gentry
+was not to them.
+
+With but one sweeping and repellent glance
+over the canaille present, he made sure that the
+person he sought was not in the waiting-room.
+Therefore, he turned to the doors which gave
+admission to the tracks, but before he went out
+he paused for an instant of displeasure.  Hard
+by the doors stood a telephone-booth, and from
+inside this booth a little girl of nine or ten
+was peering eagerly out at William, her eyes just
+above the lower level of the glass window in the
+door.
+
+Even a prospect thus curtailed revealed her as
+a smudged and dusty little girl; and, evidently,
+her mother must have been preoccupied with
+some important affair that day; but to William
+she suggested nothing familiar.  As his glance
+happened to encounter hers, the peering eyes
+grew instantly brighter with excitement;--she
+exposed her whole countenance at the window,
+and impulsively made a face at him.
+
+William had not the slightest recollection of
+ever having seen her before.
+
+He gave her one stern look and went on;
+though he felt that something ought to be done. 
+The affair was not a personal one--patently,
+this was a child who played about the station
+and amused herself by making faces at everybody
+who passed the telephone-booth--still, the
+authorities ought not to allow it.  People did not
+come to the station to be insulted.
+
+Three seconds later the dusty-faced little girl
+and her moue were sped utterly from William's
+mind.  For, as the doors swung together behind
+him, he saw Miss Pratt.  There were no gates
+nor iron barriers to obscure the view; there was
+no train-shed to darken the air.  She was at
+some distance, perhaps two hundred feet, along
+the tracks, where the sleeping-cars of the long
+train would stop.  But there she stood, mistakable
+for no other on this wide earth!
+
+There she stood--a glowing little figure in the
+hazy September sunlight, her hair an amber mist
+under the adorable little hat; a small bunch of
+violets at her waist; a larger bunch of fragrant
+but less expensive sweet peas in her right hand;
+half a dozen pink roses in her left; her little dog
+Flopit in the crook of one arm; and a one-pound
+box of candy in the crook of the other--ineffable,
+radiant, starry, there she stood!
+
+Near her also stood her young hostess, and
+Wallace Banks, Johnnie Watson, and Joe Bullitt
+--three young gentlemen in a condition of solemn
+tensity.  Miss Parcher saw William as he
+emerged from the station building, and she
+waved her parasol in greeting, attracting the
+attention of the others to him, so that they:
+all turned and stared.
+
+Seventeen sometimes finds it embarrassing
+(even in a state of deep emotion) to walk two
+hundred feet, or thereabout, toward a group of
+people who steadfastly watch the long approach.
+And when the watching group contains the lady
+of all the world before whom one wishes to
+appear most debonair, and contains not only her,
+but several rivals, who, though FAIRLY good-
+hearted, might hardly be trusted to neglect such
+an opportunity to murmur something jocular
+about one--  No, it cannot be said that William
+appeared to be wholly without self-consciousness.
+
+In fancy he had prophesied for this moment
+something utterly different.  He had seen himself
+parting from her, the two alone as within a
+cloud.  He had seen himself gently placing his
+box of candy in her hands, some of his fingers
+just touching some of hers and remaining thus
+lightly in contact to the very last.  He had seen
+himself bending toward the sweet blonde head to
+murmur the few last words of simple eloquence,
+while her eyes lifted in mysterious appeal to his
+--and he had put no other figures, not even Miss
+Parcher's, into this picture.
+
+Parting is the most dramatic moment in young
+love, and if there is one time when the lover
+wishes to present a lofty but graceful appearance
+it is at the last.  To leave with the loved
+one, for recollection, a final picture of manly
+dignity in sorrow--that, above all things, is the
+lover's desire.  And yet, even at the beginning
+of William's two-hundred-foot advance (later so
+much discussed) he felt the heat surging over his
+ears, and, as he took off his hat, thinking to
+wave it jauntily in reply to Miss Parcher, he
+made but an uncertain gesture of it, so that he
+wished he had not tried it.  Moreover, he had
+covered less than a third of the distance, when
+he became aware that all of the group were staring
+at him with unaccountable eagerness, and
+had begun to laugh.
+
+William felt certain that his attire was in no
+way disordered, nor in itself a cause for laughter;--
+all of these people had often seen him
+dressed as he was to-day, and had preserved
+their gravity.  But, in spite of himself, he took
+off his hat again, and looked to see if anything
+about it might explain this mirth, which, at his
+action, increased.  Nay, the laughter began to be
+shared by strangers; and some set down their
+hand-luggage for greater pleasure in what they
+saw.
+
+William's inward state became chaotic.
+
+He tried to smile carelessly, to prove his
+composure, but he found that he had lost almost all
+control over his features. He had no knowledge
+of his actual expression except that it hurt him. 
+In desperation he fell back upon hauteur; he
+managed to frown, and walked proudly.  At that
+they laughed the more, Wallace Banks rudely
+pointing again and again at William; and not
+till the oncoming sufferer reached a spot within
+twenty feet of these delighted people did he
+grasp the significance of Wallace's repeated gesture
+of pointing.  Even then he understood only
+when the gesture was supplemented by half-
+articulate shouts:
+
+``Behind you!  Look BEHIND you!''
+
+The stung youth turned.
+
+There, directly behind him, he beheld an
+exclusive little procession consisting of two damsels
+in single file, the first soiled with house-moving,
+the second with apple sauce.
+
+For greater caution they had removed their
+shoes; and each damsel, as she paraded, dangled
+from each far-extended hand a shoe.  And both
+damsels, whether beneath apple sauce or dust
+smudge, were suffused with the rapture of a great
+mockery.
+
+They were walking with their stummicks out
+o' joint.
+
+At sight of William's face they squealed.  They
+turned and ran.  They got themselves out of
+sight.
+
+Simultaneously, the air filled with solid thunder
+and the pompous train shook the ground.  Ah,
+woe's the word!  This was the thing that meant
+to bear away the golden girl and honeysuckle of
+the world--meant to, and would, not abating one
+iron second!
+
+Now a porter had her hand-bag.
+
+Dear Heaven! to be a porter--yes, a colored
+one!  What of that, NOW?  Just to be a simple
+porter, and journey with her to the far, strange
+pearl among cities whence she had come!
+
+The gentle porter bowed her toward the steps
+of his car; but first she gave Flopit into the hands
+of May Parcher, for a moment, and whispered
+a word to Wallace Banks; then to Joe Bullitt;
+then to Johnnie Watson;--then she ran to William.
+
+She took his hand.
+
+``Don't forget!'' she whispered.  ``Don't
+forget Lola!''
+
+He stood stock-still.  His face was blank, his
+hand limp.  He said nothing.
+
+She enfolded May Parcher, kissed her
+devotedly; then, with Flopit once more under her
+arm, she ran and jumped upon the steps just
+as the train began to move.  She stood there, on
+the lowest step, slowly gliding away from them,
+and in her eyes there was a sparkle of tears, left,
+it may be, from her laughter at poor William's
+pageant with Jane and Rannie Kirsted--or, it
+may be, not.
+
+She could not wave to her friends, in answer
+to their gestures of farewell, for her arms were
+too full of Flopit and roses and candy and sweet
+peas; but she kept nodding to them in a way
+that showed them how much she thanked them
+for being sorry she was going--and made it clear
+that she was sorry, too, and loved them all.
+
+``Good-by!'' she meant.
+
+Faster she glided; the engine passed from sight
+round a curve beyond a culvert, but for a moment
+longer they could see the little figure upon
+the steps--and, to the very last glimpse they
+had of her, the small, golden head was still
+nodding ``Good-by!''  Then those steps whereon
+she stood passed in their turn beneath the culvert,
+and they saw her no more.
+
+Lola Pratt was gone!
+
+Wet-eyed, her young hostess of the long
+summer turned away, and stumbled against William. 
+``Why, Willie Baxter!'' she cried, blinking at
+him.
+
+The last car of the train had rounded the curve
+and disappeared, but William was still waving
+farewell--not with his handkerchief, but with a
+symmetrical, one-pound parcel, wrapped in white
+tissue-paper, girdled with blue ribbon.
+
+``Never mind!'' said May Parcher.  ``Let's
+all walk Up-town together, and talk about her on
+the way, and we'll go by the express-office, and
+you can send your candy to her by express,
+Willie.''
+
+
+
+XXX
+
+THE BRIDE-TO-BE
+
+In the smallish house which all summer long,
+from morning until late at night, had
+resounded with the voices of young people, echoing
+their songs, murmurous with their theories of
+love, or vibrating with their glee, sometimes
+shaking all over during their more boisterous
+moods--in that house, now comparatively so
+vacant, the proprietor stood and breathed deep
+breaths.
+
+``Hah!'' he said, inhaling and exhaling the air
+profoundly.
+
+His wife was upon the porch, outside, sewing. 
+The silence was deep.  He seemed to listen to it
+--to listen with gusto; his face slowly broadening,
+a pinkish tint overspreading it.  His flaccid
+cheeks appeared to fill, to grow firm again, a
+smile finally widening them.
+
+``HAH!'' he breathed, sonorously.  He gave
+himself several resounding slaps upon the chest,
+then went out to the porch and sat in a rocking-
+chair near his wife.  He spread himself out 
+expansively.  ``My Glory!'' he said.  ``I believe
+I'll take off my coat!  I haven't had my coat off,
+outside of my own room, all summer.  I believe
+I'll take a vacation!  By George, I believe I'll
+stay home this afternoon!''
+
+``That's nice,'' said Mrs. Parcher.
+
+``Hah!'' he said.  ``My Glory!  I believe I'll
+take off my shoes!''
+
+And, meeting no objection, he proceeded to
+carry out this plan.
+
+``Hah-AH!'' he said, and placed his stockinged
+feet upon the railing, where a number of vines,
+running upon strings, made a screen between
+the porch and the street.  He lit a large cigar. 
+``Well, well!'' he said.  ``That tastes good! 
+If this keeps on, I'll be in as good shape as I
+was last spring before you know it!''  Leaning
+far back in the rocking-chair, his hands
+behind his head, he smoked with fervor; but
+suddenly he jumped in a way which showed that his
+nerves were far from normal.  His feet came to
+the floor with a thump, he jerked the cigar out of
+his mouth, and turned a face of consternation
+upon his wife.
+
+``What's the matter?''
+
+``Suppose,'' said Mr. Patcher, huskily--
+``suppose she missed her train.''
+
+Mrs. Parcher shook her head.
+
+``Think not?'' he said, brightening.  ``I ordered 
+the livery-stable to have a carriage here in
+lots of time.''
+
+``They did,'' said Mrs. Parcher, severely. 
+``About five dollars' worth.''
+
+``Well, I don't mind that,'' he returned,
+putting his feet up again.  ``After all, she was a
+mighty fine little girl in her way.  The only
+trouble with me was that crowd of boys;--having
+to listen to them certainly liked to killed me, and
+I believe if she'd stayed just one more day I'd
+been a goner!  Of all the dam boys I ever--''
+He paused, listening.
+
+``Mr. Parcher!'' a youthful voice repeated.
+
+He rose, and, separating two of the vines which
+screened the end of the porch from the street,
+looked out.  Two small maidens had paused upon
+the sidewalk, and were peering over the
+picket fence.
+
+``Mr. Parcher,'' said Jane, as soon as his head
+appeared between the vines--``Mr. Parcher, Miss
+Pratt's gone.  She's gone away on the cars.''
+
+``You think so?'' he asked, gravely.
+
+``We saw her,'' said Jane.  ``Rannie an' I
+were there.  Willie was goin' to chase us, I guess,
+but we went in the baggage-room behind trunks,
+an' we saw her go.  She got on the cars, an' it
+went with her in it.  Honest, she's gone away,
+Mr. Parcher.''
+
+Before speaking, Mr. Parcher took a long look
+at this telepathic child.  In his fond eyes she was
+a marvel and a darling.
+
+``Well--THANK you, Jane!'' he said.
+
+Jane, however, had turned her head and was
+staring at the corner, which was out of his sight.
+
+``Oo-oo-ooh!'' she murmured.
+
+``What's the trouble, Jane?''
+
+``Willie!'' she said.  ``It's Willie an' that Joe
+Bullitt, an' Johnnie Watson, an' Mr. Wallace
+Banks.  They're with Miss May Parcher.  They're
+comin' right here!''
+
+Mr. Parcher gave forth a low moan, and turned
+pathetically to his wife, but she cheered him
+with a laugh.
+
+``They've only walked up from the station
+with May,'' she said.  ``They won't come in. 
+You'll see!''
+
+Relieved, Mr. Parcher turned again to speak
+to Jane--but she was not there.  He caught
+but a glimpse of her, running up the street as
+fast as she could, hand in hand with her companion.
+
+``Run, Rannie, run!'' panted Jane.  ``I got
+to get home an' tell mamma about it before
+Willie.  I bet I ketch Hail Columbia, anyway,
+when he does get there!''
+
+And in this she was not mistaken: she caught
+Hail Columbia.  It lasted all afternoon.
+
+It was still continuing after dinner.  Thatt 
+evening, when an oft-repeated yodel, followed by
+a shrill-wailed, ``Jane-ee!  Oh, Jane-NEE-ee!''
+brought her to an open window down-stairs.  In
+the early dusk she looked out upon the washed face
+of Rannie Kirsted, who stood on the lawn below.
+
+``Come on out, Janie.  Mamma says I can
+stay outdoors an' play till half past eight.''
+
+Jane shook her head.  ``I can't.  I can't go
+outside the house till to-morrow.  It's because
+we walked after Willie with our stummicks out
+o' joint.''
+
+``Pshaw!'' Rannie cried, lightly.  ``My mother
+didn't do anything to me for that.''
+
+``Well, nobody told her on you,'' said Jane,
+reasonably.
+
+``Can't you come out at all?'' Rannie urged. 
+``Go ask your mother.  Tell her--''
+
+``How can I,'' Jane inquired, with a little heat,
+``when she isn't here to ask?  She's gone out to
+play cards--she and papa.''
+
+Rannie swung her foot.  ``Well,'' she said,
+``I guess I haf to find SOMEp'n to do!  G' night!''
+
+With head bowed in thought she moved away,
+disappearing into the gray dusk, while Jane, on
+her part, left the window and went to the open
+front door.  Conscientiously, she did not cross
+the threshold, but restrained herself to looking
+out.  On the steps of the porch sat William,
+alone, his back toward the house.
+
+``Willie?'' said Jane, softly; and, as he made
+no response, she lifted her voice a little. 
+``Will-ee!''
+
+``Whatchwant!'' he grunted, not moving.
+
+``Willie, I told mamma I was sorry I made you
+feel so bad.''
+
+``All right!'' he returned, curtly.
+
+``Well, when I haf to go to bed, Willie,'' she
+said, ``mamma told me because I made you feel
+bad I haf to go up-stairs by myself, to-night.''
+
+She paused, seeming to hope that he would
+say something, but he spake not.
+
+``Willie, I don't haf to go for a while yet, but
+when I do--maybe in about a half an hour--I
+wish you'd come stand at the foot of the stairs
+till I get up there.  The light's lit up-stairs,
+but down around here it's kind of dark.''
+
+He did not answer.
+
+``Will you, Willie?''
+
+``Oh, all RIGHT!'' he said.
+
+This contented her, and she seated herself so
+quietly upon the floor, just inside the door, that
+he ceased to be aware of her, thinking she had
+gone away.  He sat staring vacantly into the
+darkness, which had come on with that abruptness
+which begins to be noticeable in September. 
+His elbows were on his knees, and his body was
+sunk far forward in an attitude of desolation.
+
+The small noises of the town--that town so
+empty to-night--fell upon his ears mockingly. 
+It seemed to him incredible that so hollow a town
+could go about its nightly affairs just as usual. 
+A man and a woman, going by, laughed loudly at
+something the man had said: the sound of their
+laughter was horrid to William.  And from a
+great distance from far out in the country--
+there came the faint, long-drawn whistle of an
+engine.
+
+That was the sorrowfulest sound of all to
+William.  His lonely mind's eye sought the
+vasty spaces to the east; crossed prairie, and
+river, and hill, to where a long train whizzed
+onward through the dark--farther and farther
+and farther away.  William uttered a sigh, so
+hoarse, so deep from the tombs, so prolonged,
+that Jane, who had been relaxing herself at full
+length upon the floor, sat up straight with a jerk.
+
+But she was wise enough not to speak.
+
+Now the full moon came masquerading among
+the branches of the shade-trees; it came in the
+likeness of an enormous football, gloriously
+orange.  Gorgeously it rose higher, cleared the
+trees, and resumed its wonted impersonation of
+a silver disk.  Here was another mockery:  What
+was the use of a moon NOW?
+
+Its use appeared straightway.
+
+In direct coincidence with that rising moon,
+there came from a little distance down the
+street the sound of a young male voice, singing. 
+It was not a musical voice, yet sufficiently loud;
+and it knew only a portion of the words and air it
+sought to render, but, upon completing the portion
+it did know, it instantly began again, and
+sang that portion over and over with brightest
+patience.  So the voice approached the residence
+of the Baxter family, singing what the shades of
+night gave courage to sing--instead of whistle,
+as in the abashing sunlight.
+
+Thus:
+
+``My countree, 'tis of thee,
+Sweet land of liber-tee,
+My countree, 'tis of thee,
+Sweet land of liber-tee,
+My countree, 'tis of thee,
+Sweet land of liber-tee,
+My countree, 'tis of thee,
+Sweet land of liber-tee,
+My countree, 'tis--''
+
+
+Jane spoke unconsciously.  ``It's Freddie,'' she
+said.
+
+William leaped to his feet; this was something
+he could NOT bear!  He made a bloodthirsty dash
+toward the gate, which the singer was just in the
+act of passing.
+
+``You GET OUT O' HERE!'' William roared.
+
+The song stopped.  Freddie Banks fled like a
+rag on the wind.
+
+
+. . . Now here is a strange matter.
+
+The antique prophets prophesied successfully;
+they practised with some ease that art since lost
+but partly rediscovered by M. Maeterlinck, who
+proves to us that the future already exists,
+simultaneously with the present.  Well, if his
+proofs be true, then at this very moment when
+William thought menacingly of Freddie Banks,
+the bright air of a happy June evening--an
+evening ordinarily reckoned ten years, nine months
+and twenty-one days in advance of this present
+sorrowful evening--the bright air of that happy
+June evening, so far in the future, was actually
+already trembling to a wedding-march played
+upon a church organ; and this selfsame Freddie,
+with a white flower in his buttonhole, and in
+every detail accoutred as a wedding usher, was
+an usher for this very William who now (as we
+ordinarily count time) threatened his person.
+
+But for more miracles:
+
+As William turned again to resume his meditations
+upon the steps, his incredulous eyes fell upon
+a performance amazingly beyond fantasy, and
+without parallel as a means to make scorn of
+him.  Not ten feet from the porch--and in the
+white moonlight that made brilliant the path to
+the gate--Miss Mary Randolph Kirsted was
+walking.  She was walking with insulting pomposity
+in her most pronounced semicircular manner.
+
+``YOU GET OUT O' HERE!'' she said, in a voice as
+deep and hoarse as she could make it.  ``YOU
+GET OUT O' HERE!''
+
+Her intention was as plain as the moon.  She
+was presenting in her own person a sketch of
+William, by this means expressing her opinion
+of him and avenging Jane.
+
+``YOU GET OUT O' HERE!'' she croaked.
+
+The shocking audacity took William's breath. 
+He gasped; he sought for words.
+
+``Why, you--you--'' he cried.  ``You--you
+sooty-faced little girl!''
+
+In this fashion he directly addressed Miss
+Mary Randolph Kirsted for the first time in his
+life.
+
+And that was the strangest thing of this strange
+evening.  Strangest because, as with life itself,
+there was nothing remarkable upon the surface
+of it.  But if M. Maeterlinck has the right
+of the matter, and if the bright air of that June
+evening, almost eleven years in the so-called
+future, was indeed already trembling to ``Lohengrin,''
+then William stood with Johnnie Watson
+against a great bank of flowers at the foot of a
+church aisle; that aisle was roped with white-
+satin ribbons; and William and Johnnie were
+waiting for something important to happen. 
+And then, to the strains of ``Here Comes the
+Bride,'' it did--a stately, solemn, roseate, gentle
+young thing with bright eyes seeking through a
+veil for William's eyes.
+
+Yes, if great M. Maeterlinck is right, it seems
+that William ought to have caught at least some
+eerie echo of that wedding-march, however faint
+--some bars or strains adrift before their time
+upon the moonlight of this September night in
+his eighteenth year.
+
+For there, beyond the possibility of any fate to
+intervene, or of any later vague, fragmentary
+memory of even Miss Pratt to impair, there in
+that moonlight was his future before him.
+
+He started forward furiously.  ``You--you--
+you little--''
+
+But he paused, not wasting his breath upon the
+empty air.
+
+His bride-to-be was gone.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington
+
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