o early. I'm the most 'portant person, and I want to walk in after
the others, then they'll all look at me."

She tossed her tightly-wrought curls.

"Come into our ole shed a minute," said William. "I've got a present
for you."

She blushed and ogled.

"Oh, _William_!" she said, and followed him into the wood-shed.

"Look!" he said.

[Illustration: "HAVE A LOT," SAID WILLIAM. "THEY'RE ALL FOR YOU. GO
ON. EAT 'EM ALL. YOU CAN EAT AN' EAT AN' EAT."]

His uncle's five shillings had been well expended. Rows of cakes lay
round the shed, pastries, and sugar cakes, and iced cakes, and currant
cakes.

"Have a lot," said William. "They're all for you. Go on! Eat 'em all.
You can eat an' eat an' eat. There's lots an' lots of time and they
can't begin without you, can they?"

"Oh, _William_!" she said.

She gloated over them.

"Oh, may I?"

"There's heaps of time," said William. "Go on! Eat them all!"

Her greedy little eyes seemed to stand out of her head.

"Oo!" she said in rapture.

She sat down on the floor and began to eat, lost to everything but
icing and currants and pastry. William made for the door, then he
paused, gazed wistfully at the feast, stepped back, and, grabbing a
cream bun in each hand, crept quietly away.

Bettine in her print frock was at the door of the school.

"Hurry up!" she said anxiously. "You're going to be late. The others
are all out. They're waiting to begin. Miss Dewhurst's out there.
They're all come but you an' the Queen. I stayed 'cause you asked me
to stay to help you."

He came in and shut the door.

"You're goin' to be May Queen," he announced firmly.

"_Me?_" she said in amazement.

"Yes. An' I'm goin' to be King."

He unwrapped his parcel.

"Look!" he said.

He had ransacked his sister's bedroom. Once Ethel had been to a fancy
dress dance as a Fairy. Over Bettine's print frock he drew a crumpled
gauze slip with wings, torn in several places. On her brow he placed a
tinsel crown at a rakish angle. And she quivered with happiness.

"Oh, how lovely!" she said. "How lovely! How lovely!"

His own preparations were simpler. He tied a red sash that he had
taken off his sister's hat over his right shoulder and under his left
arm on the top of his smock. Someone had once given him a small 'bus
conductor's cap with a toy set of tickets and clippers. He placed the
cap upon his head with its peak over one eye. It was the only official
headgear he had been able to pro