er a bit of woodwork gave
opportunity to start a blaze. He was caught by Murfree, and----"

"I telled her, Doyce," panting with the haste of her precipitate return.
"I telled her, and she said 'Umph!' but I dess she will. Say, Doyce----"

"Hush, Dodo! Mr. Dalton is talking, and you _must_ be quiet. Shall I
hold you?"

"No, no, I don't want to be church-'till. I want to womp."

"Well, go and 'womp' then, bless you! And be quick about it."

"But I wants to eat first."

"Talk fast, Mr. Dalton. She is pouting now, and you may get in a
sentence or two."

He met her merry look with a very kindly one.

"I see you _can_ be patient, Miss Lavillotte. Well, as this Lozcoski set
fire to your Works and was imprisoned on that indictment, he has been
rearrested to serve out his sentence. He escaped from prison one night
when a fire in the dormitories had demoralized the discipline. He----"

"It's tomin'! It's tomin'! Dere's de lemmade and tookies, Doyce. See,
see?"

The young lady put a white hand over the child's restless lips and
nodded vigorously towards her manager, who continued rapidly:

"He hid in the woods till that night of the party, waiting for a chance
at Murfree, I presume, for he is bitter against him yet. But, driven
desperate by hunger, he came into town, and the smell and sight of the
feasting nearly crazed him, I imagine. So----"

"Doyce! Doyce! Heah's Katie waitin'. Where'll we hab de table? Why don't
you pay 'tention to Katie? Where's de table-cloff? Oh, oh, if she puts
it down on dat twee-bench Wobin will eat it all up!"

Joyce put out a warning hand again, and kept her eyes on Dalton's.

"And so--and so--dear me! I'm all in a mix-up. Can't remember what I was
going to say, but the gist is, you will have to go into court to swear
something----"

"Doyce, I fink you is aw-wful naughty! Pooh Katie is _so_ tired."

"Well, you see Mr. Dalton--it's no use. Let us eat and drink, for
to-morrow we die! Dodo, you are the great American nuisance, in person.
Katie, give me that tray and run back for the little rustic stand in the
arbor--oh, thank you, Mr. Dalton! Now, Dodo, sit down there and don't
speak till you have eaten that cookie all up."

"Two tookies, Doyce. Two-o tookies!"

"Very well, two or twenty, only that you remain tongue-tied meanwhile.
Shall I give you a glass, Mr. Dalton?"

"It's dood!" from Dodo, sipping ecstatically from her special little
mug, filled by Katie, and taking great scall