what can a body do
when folks plant themselves right beneath your window to pull off their
little Romeo concerto. We can't smother on nights like these. 'Aw, go
on, Connie.'"

"I wanted to drop a pillow on his head, but Carol was afraid he'd run
off with the pillow, so we just sacrificed ourselves and let it
proceed."

"Well, I--"

"Give us time, Connie. We're coming to that. And Connie said, 'I'm going
in now, I'm sleepy.'"

"I didn't--father, I didn't!"

"Well, you might have said a worse thing than that," he told her sadly.

"I mean--I--"

"She did say it," cried the twins. "'I'm sleepy.' Just like that."

"Oh, Connie's the girl for sentiment," exclaimed Lark. "Sleepy is not a
romantic word and it's not a sentimental feeling, but it can be drawled
out so it sounds a little mushy at least. 'I sleep, my love, to dream of
thee,'--for instance. But Connie didn't do it that way. Nix. Just plain
sleep, and it sounded like 'Get out, and have a little sense.'"

"Well, it would make you sick," declared Connie, wrinkling up her nose
to express her disgust. "Are boys always like that father?"

"Don't ask me," he hedged promptly. "How should I know?"

"Oh, Connie, how can you! There's father--now, he never cared to kiss
the girls even in his bad and balmy days, did you, daddy? Oh, no, father
was all for the strictly orthodox even in his youth!"

Mr. Starr returned precipitately to his mail, and the twins calmly
resumed the discussion where it had been interrupted.

A little later a quick exclamation from their father made them turn to
him inquiringly.

"It's a shame," he said, and again: "What a shame!"

The girls waited expectantly. When he only continued frowning at the
letter in his hand, Carol spoke up brightly, "Yes, isn't it?"

Even then he did not look up, and real concern settled over their
expressive faces. "Father! Can't you see we're listening?"

He looked up, vaguely at first, then smiling. "Ah, roused your
curiosity, did I? Well, it's just another phase of this eternal boy
question."

Carol leaned forward ingratiatingly. "Now indeed, we are all
absorption."

"Why, it's a letter from Andrew Hedges,--an old college chum of mine.
His son is going west and Andy is sending him around this way to see me
and meet my family. He'll be here this afternoon. Isn't it a shame?"

"Isn't it lovely?" exclaimed Carol. "We can use him to make Jim Forrest
jealous if he doesn't ask for that date?" And she ros