laws, succumbing to ice cream hunger, followed suit,
one after the other, until all of the girls were provided with escorts.
Then, to the moral strains of "The Stars and Stripes Forever", the
children paraded out to the dining-room. Two and two they marched,
except at the extreme tail end of the line, where, since there were
three more boys than girls at the party, the three left-over boys were
placed. These three were also the last three outlaws to succumb and
return to civilization from outlying portions of the house after the
pursuit by waiters. They were Messieurs Maurice Levy, Samuel Williams,
and Penrod Schofield.

They took their chairs in the capacious dining-room quietly enough,
though their expressions were eloquent of bravado, and they jostled one
another and their neighbours intentionally, even in the act of sitting.
However, it was not long before delectable foods engaged their whole
attention and Miss Amy Rennsdale's party relapsed into etiquette for
the following twenty minutes. The refection concluded with the mild
explosion of paper "crackers" that erupted bright-coloured, fantastic
headgear, and, during the snapping of the "crackers", Penrod heard the
voice of Marjorie calling from somewhere behind him, "Carrie and Amy,
will you change chairs with Georgie Bassett and me--just for fun?" The
chairs had been placed in rows, back to back, and Penrod would not
even turn his head to see if Master Chitten and Miss Rennsdale accepted
Marjorie's proposal, though they were directly behind him and Sam; but
he grew red and breathed hard. A moment later, the liberty-cap that he
had set upon his head was softly removed, and a little crown of silver
paper put in its place.

"PENROD?"

The whisper was close to his ear, and a gentle breath cooled the back of
his neck.

CHAPTER XXIV. THE HEART OF MARJORIE JONES

"Well, what you want?" Penrod asked, brusquely.

Marjorie's wonderful eyes were dark and mysterious, like still water at
twilight.

"What makes you behave so AWFUL?" she whispered.

"I don't either! I guess I got a right to do the way I want to, haven't
I?"

"Well, anyway," said Marjorie, "you ought to quit bumping into people so
it hurts."

"Poh! It wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Yes, it did. It hurt when you bumped Maurice and me that time."

"It didn't either. WHERE'D it hurt you? Let's see if it--"

"Well, I can't show you, but it did. Penrod, are you going to keep on?"

Penrod's heart had me