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 u