Oh, Mumsy! I'm going to cry," and Judith did shed a few tears and sob
a few sobs.

"Surely you are not going to accept clothes from any man, Judith."
Mrs. Buck's tone was stern and disapproving.

"Of course not from any one man, but this is from about ten men--the
dear old men who are giving the ball! I wouldn't be so mean as not to
accept this gift. What's more, I'm going to try the things on this
minute. Look! There's even a silk slip to wear under it. Whoever
bought this outfit knew how to buy. Mumsy, Mumsy! The slippers fit.
Oh, I'm a real Cinderella, but the best thing about it is that the old
men must truly love me, the dears."

CHAPTER XII

Jeff Gives a Pledge

Until recently it had been the custom for Miss Ann Peyton, on every
fine afternoon, to have old Billy drive her forth for an airing. It
exercised the horses and gave Billy a definite occupation, besides
affording some change of scene for his mistress. This habit of a
lifetime had been abandoned because Miss Ann and Billy had come to a
tacit understanding that the less the old coach was used the better
for all concerned. Like the hoop skirt, little of the original
creation remained. It had been repaired here and renewed there through
the ages, until the body was all that the carriage maker would have
acknowledged and that had many patches.

The coach had been a very handsome vehicle in its day, with heavy
silver mountings and luxurious upholstery. The silver mounting was
Billy's pride and despair. No fussy housekeeper ever kept her silver
service any brighter than Billy did the trimmings of the old carriage,
but in late years there never seemed to be room in any carriage house
for Miss Ann's coach and it took much rubbing to obliterate the stains
caused by continual exposure. Billy often found a new rent in the
cushions, from which the hair stuffing protruded impertinently. He
would poke it back and take a clumsy stitch only to have it burst
forth in a fresh place.

There had always been a place in the carriage house at Buck Hill for
Cousin Ann's coach until the family had gone in largely for
automobiles and then the carriage house had been converted into a
garage, the horse-drawn vehicles in a great measure discarded and now
the ancient coach must find shelter under a shed, with various farming
implements. Billy felt this to be as much of an insult as putting his
mistress out of the guest chamber, but he must make the best of it and
never