made when
the school-house was dedicated was twice too long. Everybody got
tired."

His daughter Millicent was the only person on earth from whom Colonel
Butler would accept criticism or reproof. And from her he not only
accepted it, but not infrequently acted upon it in accordance with her
wish. He had always humored her, because she had always lived with
him, except during the time she was away at boarding school; and since
the death of his wife, a dozen years before, she had devoted herself
to his comfort. But he was fond, nevertheless, of getting into a mild
argument with her, and being vanquished, as he expected to be now.

"My dear daughter," he said, "I invariably gauge the length of my
speech by the importance of the occasion. The occasion to which you
refer was an important one, as will be the occasion of the
presentation of this flag. It will be necessary for me, therefore, to
address the pupils and the assembled guests at sufficient length to
impress upon them the desirability, you may say the necessity, of
having a patriotic emblem, such as is the American flag, constantly
before the eyes of our youth."

His daughter laughed a little. She was never awed by his stately
manner of speech.

"All the same," she replied; "I shall get a seat in the front row, and
if you exceed fifteen minutes--fifteen minutes to a minute, mind
you--I shall hold up a warning finger; and if you still trespass, I
shall go up and drag you off the platform by your coat tails; and then
you'd look pretty, wouldn't you?"

Apparently he did not find it profitable to prolong the argument with
her on this occasion, for he laughed and turned again to Pen.

"By the way, Penfield," he said, "I missed you at the train the day I
left home. I suppose something of major importance detained you?"

Pen blushed a little, but he replied frankly:

"I was awfully sorry, grandfather; I meant to have written you about
it. I didn't exactly forget; but I was coasting on Drake's Hill, and
there was an accident, and I was very much excited, and it got
train-time before I knew it. Then I ran as fast as I could, but it
wasn't any use."

"I see. I trust that no one was seriously injured?"

"No, sir. I bruised my shin a little, and Elmer scraped his knee, and
the bobs were wrecked; that's about all."

Colonel Butler adjusted his glasses and leaned back in his chair; a
habit he had when about to deliver himself of an opinion which he
deemed important