w
shoes, after a really outrageous piece of washing, which went not only
behind the ears but actually into them. She put his cap on his head--he
always had to move it a trifle afterwards,--looked at his finger-nails
again, pulled down his jacket in front and buttoned every button,
straightened out each of the four wings of his bow tie, took off his cap
to see if his hair was mussed and put it on again, pulled down his
jacket in front, straightened his tie, altered the position of his cap,
put both her arms around him and kissed him, and told him it was nearly
two o'clock and he had better hurry. As soon as she had gone in, after
watching him go off down the street, he unbuttoned every button of his
jacket, put his cap on the back of his head, and in crossing the
street-car track deliberately walked his shiny squeaking shoes into a
pile of street-sweepings; he then felt better, and went on towards the
Old Tobacco Shop.

As he came to the church, he stopped to look at the hands of the clock;
he was in luck; the hands would not be together for ever so long, for it
was ten minutes to two. The Churchwarden was sitting in his chair tilted
back against the wall, keeping guard over his church; and he was smoking
his churchwarden pipe. Freddie walked by very slowly, and his shoes
squeaked aloud on the brick pavement. The fat old man gazed at him
solemnly, and Freddie looked at the fat old man. The Churchwarden's
chair came down on the pavement with a thump.

"Look here!" he said. "This ain't Sunday! What's the meaning of all
this? It's against the rules to wear them squeaking shoes of a Saturday!
The Dean and Chapter has made that rule, by and with the advice and
consent of the City Council, don't you know that? And all that big red
necktie, too! Did you think it was Sunday?"

"No, sir," said Freddie, for he was always honest, even in the face of
danger. "I couldn't help it. I didn't want to, but mother made me----"

"Ah! that's it. I thought maybe you'd made a mistake in the day; then it
wouldn't 'a' been so bad. Look here; it's my duty to report this here
violation of the Sunday law, but as long as--you're sure you ain't
_particeps criminis_?"

"No, sir," said the Little Boy earnestly. "My name's Freddie."

"Well, that makes it different. I though you was another party; young
party-ceps; but if you ain't, why--Here; you'll need something to show,
in case you should meet the Archdeacon, and he'd want to know why I
hadn't