something to think about later, when shoes should be
resumed; and he was far from stopping at that. Casting about him for
some material that he desired, he opened a door of the dressing-room
and found himself confronting the apartment of Miss Lowe. Upon a desk he
beheld the bottle of mucilage he wanted, and, having taken possession of
it, he allowed his eye the privilege of a rapid glance into a dressing
table drawer, accidentally left open.

He returned to the dressing-room, five seconds later, carrying not only
the mucilage but a "switch" worn by Miss Lowe when her hair was dressed
in a fashion different from that which she had favoured for the party.
This "switch" he placed in the pocket of a juvenile overcoat unknown to
him, and then he took the mucilage into the bathroom. There he rescued
from the water the six cakes of soap, placed one in each of the six
shoes, pounding it down securely into the toe of the shoe with the
handle of a back brush. After that, Carlie poured mucilage into all six
shoes impartially until the bottle was empty, then took them back to
their former positions in the dressing-room. Finally, with careful
forethought, he placed his own shoes in the pockets of his overcoat, and
left the overcoat and his cap upon a chair near the outer door of the
room. Then he went quietly downstairs, having been absent from
the festivities a little less than twelve minutes. He had been
energetic--only a boy could have accomplished so much in so short a
time. In fact, Carlie had been so busy that his forgetting to turn off
the faucets in the bathroom is not at all surprising.

No one had noticed his absence. That infectious pastime, "Gotcher
bumpus", had broken out again, and the general dancing, which had been
resumed upon the conclusion of "Les Papillons", was once more becoming
demoralized. Despairingly the aunts Rennsdale and Miss Lowe brought
forth from the rear of the house a couple of waiters and commanded them
to arrest the ringleaders, whereupon hilarious terror spread among
the outlaw band. Shouting tauntingly at their pursuers, they fled--and
bellowing, trampling flight swept through every quarter of the house.

Refreshments quelled this outbreak for a time. The orchestra played
a march; Carlie Chitten and Georgie Bassett, with Amy Rennsdale and
Marjorie, formed the head of a procession, while all the boys who had
retained their sense of decorum immediately sought partners and fell in
behind. The out