corated with bunting. Then there was all kinds of
flags, from little ten centers to big twenty footers swung across the
street. There was a whackin' big Irish flag loaned by the A. O. H.; two
Italian flags almost as big; I don't know how many French tri-colors and
some I couldn't place; Czecho-Slovaks maybe. And besides the lanterns
and extra arc-lights there was red fire burnin' liberal. Then at either
end of the block was a truck backed up with a band in it and they was
tearin' away at all kinds of tunes from the "Marseillaise" to
"K-k-k-katie," while bumpin' and bobbin' about on the asphalt were
hundreds of couples doing jazz steps and gettin' pelted with confetti.

"Why, it's almost like the Mardi Gras!" says Vee.

"Looks festive, all right," says I. "And I should say Miss Casey has put
over the real thing. I wonder if we can find her in this mob."

Seemed like a hopeless search, but finally, down in the middle of the
block, I spots an old lady in a wheel chair, and I has a hunch it might
be Mrs. Mears. Sure enough, it is. Not much to look at, she ain't; sort
of humped over, with a shawl 'round her shoulders. But say, when you got
a glimpse of the way her old eyes was lighted up, and saw the smile
flickerin' around her lips, you knew that nobody in that whole crowd was
any happier than she was just at that minute.

"Oh, yes," says she. "Minnie Casey is looking for you two young folks.
She's dancing with Edgar now, but they'll be back soon. Haven't seen my
son Edgar, have you? Well, you must. He--he's a soldier, you know."

"We should be delighted," says Vee. And then she whispers to me: "Hasn't
she a nice face, though?"

We hadn't waited long before I sees a tall, willowy young thing wearin'
one of them zippy French tams come bearin' down on us wavin' energetic
and towin' along a red-faced young doughboy who looks like he'd been
stuffed into his uniform by a sausage machine. It's Minnie and Stub.

"Hello, folks!" she sings out. "Say, I was just wonderin' if you was
goin' to renig on me. Fine work! An' I want you to meet one of the most
prominent privates in the division, Mr. Mears. Come on, Stubby, pull
that overseas salute of yours. Ain't he a bear-cat, though? And how
about the show? Ain't it some party?"

"Why, it's simply wonderful," says Vee. "I had no idea, Miss Casey, that
you were planning anything like this."

"I didn't," says Minnie. "Only after we got started it kept gettin'
bigger and bigger unt