ngsters had
been in school somewhere near Boston; but, this bein' the holidays,
what do they do but turn up in New York and express a wild desire to
see dear old Guardy.

"Gee!" thinks I. "They don't know when they're well off."

For Old Hickory ain't got a lot of use for the average young person.
I've heard him express his sentiments on that point. "Impudent,
ill-mannered, selfish, spoiled young barbarians, the boys," says he,
"and the girls aren't much better,--silly, giggling young chatterboxes!"

And the way I has it framed up, this was rather a foxy move of the
young Chandlers, discoverin' their swell New York relations just as the
holiday season was openin'. So I don't figure that the situation calls
for any open-arm motions on my part. No, nothin' like that. I'm here
to give 'em their first touch of frost.

So about eleven-fifteen, as I glances across the brass rail and sees
this pair advancin' sort of uncertain, I'm all prepared to cause a drop
in the mercury. They wa'n't exactly the type I had in mind, though.
What I'd expected was a brace of high school cutups. But these two are
older than that.

The young fellow was one of these big-boned, wide-shouldered chaps,
with a heavy, serious look to his face, almost dull. I couldn't tell
at first look whether he was a live wire or not. No such suspicions
about the girl. She ain't what you'd call a queen, exactly. She's too
tall and her face is too long for that. Kind of a cute sort of face,
though, with rather a wide mouth that she can twist into a weird,
one-sided smile. But after one look at them lively blue eyes you knew
she wasn't walkin' in her sleep. It's my cue, though, to let 'em guess
what nuisances they were.

"May I see Mr. Ellins?" says the young chap.

"Cards," says I.

He produces the pasteboards.

"Oh, yes!" I goes on. "The wards, eh? Marjorie Chandler, Dudley
Winthrop Chandler. Well, you've picked out a busy day, you know."

"Oh, have we?" says Marjorie. "There, Dud! I was afraid we might.
Perhaps we'd better not call, after all."

"Good!" says Dudley. "I didn't want to, anyway. We can just send in
our cards and leave word that we----"

"Ah, can it!" says I. "Mr. Ellins is expectin' you; only he ain't a
man you can walk in on casual."

"But really," puts in Marjorie, "it's just as well if we don't see him."

"Yes, and get me fired for not carryin' out instructions," says I. "My
orders are to work you in when th