h a novelty as
to bring the population, old and young, to doors and windows. Miss
Maud Hunniwell laughingly confided to Jed that she was beginning to
have hopes, real hopes, of seeing genuine gold lace some day soon.

Captain Sam, her father, was busy. Sessions of the Exemption Board
were not quite as frequent as at first, but the captain declared
them frequent enough. And volunteering went on steadily here and
there among young blood which, having drawn a low number in the
draft, was too impatient for active service to wait its turn.
Gustavus Howes, bookkeeper at the bank, was one example. Captain
Sam told Jed about it on one of his calls.

"Yep," he said, "Gus has gone, cleared out yesterday afternoon.
Goin' to one of the trainin' camps to try to learn to be an
officer. Eh? What did I say to him? Why, I couldn't say nothin',
could I, but 'Hurrah' and 'God bless you'? But it's leavin' a bad
hole in the bank just the same."

Jed asked if the bank had any one in view to fill that hole.
Captain Sam looked doubtful.

"Well," he replied, "we've got somebody in view that would like to
try and fill it. Barzilla Small was in to see me yesterday
afternoon and he's sartin that his boy Luther--Lute, everybody
calls him--is just the one for the place. He's been to work up in
Fall River in a bank, so Barzilla says; that would mean he must
have had some experience. Whether he'll do or not I don't know,
but he's about the only candidate in sight, these war times. What
do you think of him, Jed?"

Jed rubbed his chin. "To fill Gus Howes' place?" he asked.

"Yes, of course. Didn't think I was figgerin' on makin' him
President of the United States, did you?"

"Hum! . . . W-e-e-ll. . . . One time when I was a little shaver,
Sam, down to the fishhouse, I tried on a pair of Cap'n Jabe Kelly's
rubber boots. You remember Cap'n Jabe, Sam, of course. Do you
remember his feet?"

The captain chuckled. "My dad used to say Jabe's feet reminded him
of a couple of chicken-halibut."

"Um-hm. . . . Well, I tried on his boots and started to walk
across the wharf in em. . . ."

"Well, what of it? Gracious king! hurry up. What happened?"

"Eh? . . . Oh, nothin' much, only seemed to me I'd had half of my
walk afore those boots began to move."

Captain Hunniwell enjoyed the story hugely. It was not until his
laugh had died away to a chuckle that its application to the bank
situation dawned upon him.

"Umph!" he gru