himself in a very strange position. He kicked his heels against the
bedpost for awhile, but presently he grew ashamed of that, and
contented himself with very noisily making ready for bed. Tode, when he
rose, was in a softened mood, and as he blew out the light said:

"I wish you knew how to pray, Jim. I do, honestly, it's so nice."

"Praying and brandy bottles don't go together," answered his companion,
shortly.

"No more they don't," said Tode, emphatically. "I had to quit that
business myself."

If some of our respectable brandy-drinking, brandy-selling deacons
_could_ have heard those two ignorant boys talk!

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XV.

EXIT TODE MALL.

On went the brisk and busy days; the soft air of summer was upon them,
and still the business at the dry-goods box flourished, and was taking
on fresh importance with every passing day. The people were almost
numberless who grew into the habit of stopping at the little box, to be
waited on by the briskest and sharpest of boys to delicious coffee and
cookies, or as the days grew warmer to a glass of iced lemonade, or a
saucer of glowing strawberries. The matter was putting on the semblance
of a partnership concern, for the old lady rivaled the bakery with her
cookies, both as regarded taste and economy; and in due course of time
Winny caught the infection, studied half a leaf of an old receipt-book
which came wrapped around an ounce of alum, and finally took to
compounding a mixture, which being duly baked and carefully watched by
the mother's practiced eye, developed into distracting little cream
cakes, which met with most astonishing sales.

Meantime there were many spare half hours in the course of the long
days, which were devoted to the puzzling grammar and arithmetic, and
gradually light was beginning to dawn over not only the addition but the
subtraction table; or, more properly speaking, the addition circle. Tode
nightly chuckled over his invention as he started from a new figure and
raced glibly around to the climax, thereby calling forth the unqualified
approbation of Winny, not unmixed now and then with a certain curious
air of admiration at his rapid strides around the mystic circle. In
fact, things were progressing. Tode began to pride himself on making
change correctly and rapidly; began to wonder, supposing he had a one
hundred dollar bill to change, could he do it as rapidly _almost_ as
that man at the bank? Began to grow very ambit