hat he would
not forget the presents this time. He decided, however, that there was
no need for him to take the whole day to select a pipe, a book, and a
pair of slippers. There would be quite time enough after luncheon.
And he smiled to himself in a superior way as he thought of the
dizzying rush and the early start that always marked his wife's
shopping excursions. He was still smiling happily when he sallied
forth at two o'clock that afternoon, leaving word at the office that he
would return in an hour.

He decided to buy the meerschaum first, and with unhesitating steps he
sought the tobacco-store in whose window he had seen it. The pipe was
gone, however, and there really was no other in the place that just
suited him, though he spent fully half an hour trying to find one. He
decided then to look elsewhere. He would try the department store in
which he intended to buy the book and the slippers. It was better,
anyway, that he should do all his shopping under one roof--it was more
systematic.

The great clock in the department-store tower had just struck three
when Jasper stalked through the swinging doors on the street floor. He
had been detained. Window displays had allured him, and dawdling
throngs of Christmas shoppers had forced his feet into a snail's pace.
He drew now a sigh of relief. He had reached his destination; he would
make short work of his purchases. And with a dignified stride he
turned toward the nearest counter.

At once, however, he found himself caught in a swirl of humanity that
swept him along like a useless chip and flung him against a counter
much farther down the aisle. With what dignity he could summon to his
aid he righted himself and addressed the smiling girl behind it.

"I'm looking for pipes," he announced, severely. "Perhaps you can tell
me where they are."

She shook her head.

"Ask him," she suggested, with a nod and a jerk of her thumb.

And Jasper, looking in the direction indicated, saw a frock-coated man
standing like a rock where the streams of humanity broke and surged to
the right and to the left. By some maneuvering, Jasper managed in time
to confront this man.

"Pipes," he panted anxiously--he was reduced now to the single word.

"Annex; second floor. Elevator to your right."

"Thanks!" fervently breathed the senior member of the firm of Hawkins &
Hawkins, muttering as he turned away, "Then they have got some system
in this infernal bedlam!"

T