bs that he caught in a pasteboard
box.

And as I sat and munched that piece of historic Byrd cookery my brain
turned over in my head and settled itself in a new way. My whole
nature underwent a revolution. I saw that a person can either accept
life as a piece of fluffy cake when it is handed to her or look on it
all as--soggy. I'm going to follow Roxanne's example after this and
see the fluffiness of the cake determinedly.

"And, Phyllis, I'll tell you what else I'm going to do," continued
Roxanne, rocking and nibbling and smiling so that I would like to have
eaten her up, from shabby shoes to the curl down the back of the neck.
"When I went down to the grocery before breakfast to get the things to
console Uncle Pompey after we had told him about the robbery, I saw
the loveliest blue muslin in the window at Mr. Hadley's store, and I
'in going to buy it to-day and make me a dress for commencement. I had
expected to wear the family linen, but Douglass says let's spend all
his salary this month in having things we want; so the blue muslin
will be my part. Do you think blue will be prettier than pink, or
would you have--?"

But just here we were interrupted by Tony's appearance at the door,
and the expression on his face matched the one I had had of condolence
as I came over through the garden; but he has known Roxanne longer
than I have and boys' minds are supposed to be stronger than
girls'--privately I don't think they are--so he accepted the situation
and the cake with more grace than I had.

However he was cruelly insistent about questioning and talking about
the robbery. The Idol had told him about it as Tony walked out to the
furnace with him, which is a Saturday habit with Tony as the Jonathan
to Mr. Douglass. Tony had known all along about the steel, but was
surprised to know that I had been able to keep it to myself. I suppose
it is best never to notice an unconscious insult, and boys are often
that way with girls.

"Doug and I both think that this is not the first time the robber has
been in or around the shed," Tony said thoughtfully. "Do you remember
that shadow we saw dodge through the yard the evening we came from the
Raccoon outing, Phyllis?"

"Yes," I answered; and the uneasy feeling I had about Mr. Rogers that
night so I couldn't sleep slightly tipped the rosy cloud I had decided
to climb upon and stay upon forever. "But it may have been Uncle
Pompey, like I thought it was," I added hopefully.

"