he _would_ shake when she laughs."

"She does," replied the skeleton. "If you could see her when something
funny strikes her you'd think she was one of those big plates of jelly
that they have in the bake-shop windows." And Mr. Treat looked proudly
at the gaudy picture which represented his wife in all her monstrosity
of flesh. "She's a great woman, Toby, an' she's got a great head."

Toby nodded his head in assent. He would have liked to have said
something nice regarding Mrs. Treat, but he really did not know what to
say, so he simply contented himself and the fond husband by nodding.

"She thinks a good deal of you, Toby," continued the skeleton, as he
moved his chair to a position more favorable for him to elevate his feet
on the edge of the counter, and placed his handkerchief under him as a
cushion; "she's talking of you all the time, and if you wasn't such a
little fellow I should begin to be jealous of you--I should, upon my
word."

"You're--both--very--good," stammered Toby, so weighted down by a sense
of the honor heaped upon him as to be at a loss for words.

"An' she wants to see more of you. She made me come out here now, when
she knew Mr. Lord would be away, to tell you that we're goin' to have a
little kind of a friendly dinner in our tent to-morrow--she's cooked it
all herself, or she's going to--and we want you to come in an' have some
with us."

Toby's eyes glistened at the thought of the unexpected pleasure, and
then his face grew sad as he replied, "I'd like to come first-rate, Mr.
Treat, but I don't s'pose Mr. Lord would let me stay away from the shop
long enough."

"Why, you won't have any work to do to-morrow, Toby--it's Sunday."

"So it is!" said the boy, with a pleased smile, as he thought of the day
of rest which was so near. And then he added, quickly, "An' this is
Saturday afternoon. What fun the boys at home are havin'! You see there
hain't any school Saturday afternoon, an' all the fellers go out in the
woods."

"And you wish you were there to go with them, don't you?" asked the
skeleton, sympathetically.

"Indeed I do!" exclaimed Toby, quickly. "It's twice as good as any
circus that ever was."

"But you didn't think so before you came with us, did you?"

"I didn't know so much about circuses then as I do now," replied the
boy, sadly.

Mr. Treat saw that he was touching on a sore subject, and one which was
arousing sad thoughts in his little companion's mind, and he hastened