thing but what was true," said Jill.

The next evening was Dick's regular night for coming, but he didn't
come, although Jill and I went down the lane a dozen times to watch
for him. The night after that was prayer-meeting night. Dick had
always walked home with Aunt Tommy and us, but that night he didn't.
He only just bowed and smiled as he passed us in the porch. Aunt Tommy
hardly spoke all the way home, only just held tight to Jill's and my
hands. But after we got home she seemed in great spirits and laughed
and chatted with Father and Mother.

"What does this mean?" asked Jill, grabbing me in the hall on our way
to bed.

"You'd better get another novel from the cook and find out," I said
grouchily. I was disgusted with things in general and Dick in
particular.

The three weeks that followed were awful. Dick never came near
Owlwood. Jill and I fought every day, we were so cross and
disappointed. Nothing had come out right, and Jill blamed it all on
me. She said I must have made it too strong. There was no fun in
anything, not even in going to church. Dick hardly thumped the pulpit
at all and when he did it was only a measly little thump. But Aunt
Tommy didn't seem to worry any. She sang and laughed and joked from
morning to night.

"She doesn't mind Dick's making an ass of himself, anyway, that's one
consolation," I said to Jill.

"She is breaking her heart about it," said Jill, "and that's your
consolation!"

"I don't believe it," I said. "What makes you think so?"

"She cries every night," said Jill. "I can tell by the look of her
eyes in the morning."

"She doesn't look half as woebegone over it as you do," I said.

"If I had her reason for looking woebegone I wouldn't look it either,"
said Jill.

I asked her to explain her meaning, but she only said that little boys
couldn't understand those things.

Things went on like this for another week. Then they reached--so Jill
says--a climax. If Jill knows what that means I don't. But Pinky
Carewe was the climax. Pinky's name is James, but Jill and I always
called him Pinky because we couldn't bear him. He took to calling at
Owlwood and one evening he took Aunt Tommy out driving. Then Jill came
to me.

"Something has got to be done," she said resolutely. "I am not going
to have Pinky Carewe for an Uncle Tommy and that is all there is about
it. You must go straight to Dick and tell him the truth about the New
York man."

I looked at Jill to see if she