time for hers to begin, just to get a word with him. She
kept us waiting for our papers ten whole minutes the other day while
she discussed better classroom ventilation with him. 'O Doctah, don't
you think we might do something about this mattah of ventilation?'"
she mimicked, convulsing Allison with her likeness to her English
teacher.

"That's an idea!" said Allison suddenly. "No, don't ask me what it is.
It would spoil things. Cloudy, may I bring a guest to dinner to-morrow
night?"

"Certainly, anybody you please," replied Julia Cloud innocently; and
the incorrigible Allison appeared the next afternoon with Miss
Detliff, smiling and pleased, sitting up in the back seat of the car.
Julia Cloud received her graciously, and never so much as suspected
anything special was going on until later in the evening, when Dr.
Bowman arrived and was ushered in to find his colaborer there before
him. He did not look especially pleased, and Julia Cloud caught a
glance of intelligence passing between Leslie and Allison, with a
sudden revelation of a plot behind it all. During the entire evening
she sat quietly, saying little, but her eyes dancing with the fun of
it. What children they were, and how she loved them! yes, and what a
child she was herself! for she couldn't help loving their pranks as
well as they did.

However, though Dr. Bowman had to take Miss Detliff home, and got very
little satisfaction out of his call that evening, it did not
discourage him in the least, and Julia Cloud decided that extreme
measures were necessary to rid them of his presence.

"We might go away during Thanksgiving week; only there's the Christian
Endeavor banquet," said Leslie. "We couldn't be away from that. And
then I wanted to have Jane to dinner. She's gone up to college this
week to live. She's doing office work there, and she'll be alone on
Thanksgiving Day."

"Yes, and there's Howard. I thought we'd have him here," put in
Allison dubiously.

"Of course!" said Julia Cloud determinedly. "And we don't want to go
away, anyway. You children run up to your rooms this evening and
study. Stay there, I mean, no matter who comes. Do you understand?"

With a curious look at her they both obeyed; and a little later, when
the knocker sounded through the house, they sat silently above, not
daring to move, and heard their aunt open the door, heard Dr. Bowman's
slow, scholarly voice and Julia Cloud's even tones, back and forth for
a little while,