own sweetness."

Obeying the summons with promptness a flight of the Lawrence P.
McGillicuddy's, accompanied for the most part by lady friends, cascaded
down the stairs and erupted forth upon the sidewalk.

"Here y'are--right here!" clarioned Mr. Cassidy as the first skylarkish
pair showed in the doorway. His manner was drolly that of a showman
exhibiting a rare freak, newly captured. "Come a-runnin'!"

They came a-running and there were a dozen of them or possibly fifteen;
blithesome spirits, all, and they fenced in the shrinking shape of Mr.
Leary with a close and curious ring of themselves, and the combined
volume of their glad, amazed outbursts might be heard for a distance of
furlongs. On prankish impulse then they locked hands and with skippings
and prancings and impromptu jig steps they circled about him; and he,
had he sought to speak, could not well have been heard; and, anyway, he
was for the moment past speech, because of being entirely engaged in
giving vent to one vehement sneeze after another. And next, above the
chorus of joyous whooping might be heard individual comments, each
shrieked out shrilly and each punctuated by a sneeze from Mr. Leary's
convulsed frame; or lacking that by a simulated sneeze from one of the
revellers--one with a fine humorous flare for mimicry. And these
comments were, for example, such as:

"Git onto the socks!"

"Ker-chew!"

"And the slippers!"

"Ker-chew!"

"And them lovely pink garters!"

"Ker-chew!"

"Oh, you cutey! Oh, you cut-up!"

"Ker-chew!"

"Oh, you candy kid!"

"And say, git onto the cunnin' elbow sleeves our little playmate's
sportin'."

"Yes, but goils, just pipe the poilies--ain't they the greatest ever?"

"They sure are. Say, kiddo, gimme one of 'em to remember you by, won't
you? You'll never miss it--you got a-plenty more."

"Wot d'ye call wot he's got on 'um, anyway?" The speaker was a male,
naturally.

"W'y, you big stoopid, can't you see he's wearin' rompers?" The answer
came in a giggle, from a gay youthful creature of the opposite sex as
she kicked out roguishly.

"Well, then be chee, w'y don't he romp a little?"

"Give 'um time, cancher? Don't you see he's blowin' out his flues? He's
busy now. He'll romp in a minute."

"Sure he will! We'll romp with 'um."

A waggish young person in white beaded slippers and a green sport skirt
broke free from the cavorting ring, and behind Mr. Leary's back the
nimble fingers of the madcap tappe