"He's a prince, that's what he is!" Jimmie told Mary Rose somewhat
chokingly, when she came over to see how George Washington and Solomon
and Jimmie were doing. "I never knew such a man."

"Didn't you?" Mary Rose was surprised. "Mr. Jerry is splendid but
there are lots and lots of splendid people in the world, Jimmie
Bronson."

"Oh, are there!" snorted Jimmie. "Well, I haven't seen so many of
them, and that's straight. Judging from what I saw and heard that
first day I was in Waloo, you've run across at least one of the other
sort, too."

Mary Rose blushed. Her inability to make friends with Mr. Wells
annoyed her. "He's got dyspepsia," she said, as if that were an
excuse. "To tell you the truth, Jimmie Bronson, when I first came here
I nearly died. I had an awful time remembering that daddy said when
there were so many people in the world there were friends for
everybody. The people were so different and it was so funny to have
them live up and down instead of side by side. At first I thought I'd
never get used to it but I did. And I have lots of friends here now.
But Waloo isn't Mifflin." And she sighed because it wasn't.

"Mifflin!" jeered Jimmie. "Mifflin! You can be mighty good and glad
it isn't. I don't know where you got your idea of Mifflin, Mary Rose,
for it's about the deadest one-horse town I ever ran across. And the
people. Huh! A collection of boneheads."

"Why, Jimmie Bronson!" gasped Mary Rose. "Mifflin's the friendliest
town--"

"Friendly!" Jimmie elevated his nose at the word. "Prying,
interfering, gossiping! That's what it is. I guess I know. You're
all wrong, Mary Rose, all wrong. If you should go back you'd see.
You're nothing but a kid. You don't know. But take it from me you've
got entirely the wrong idea of your native town. If Mifflin was what
you think it was do you imagine Solomon and I would have left? No,
siree! We'd have stayed and been part of the happy crowd. But it
isn't. Honest! It's dead and narrow and one-horse and the people are
boneheads."

Mary Rose could not believe it. She stared at him and her lip quivered.

"Jimmie," she said at last and her voice was very low and shaky, "is
that what you want me to think of Mifflin? It's always been a
wonderful place to me. You see I was born there and no other city, no
matter how grand it is, can be my birthplace. It doesn't seem as if I
could be all wrong about it. And the people! Daddy alway