will go out
in your name, should take in everybody we want Phil to know."

Amzi grinned guardedly.

"That's pretty good, Fanny. Do you suppose there's a man, woman, baby,
or yellow dog in this town that Phil doesn't know? I doubt it. But go
on."

"We don't mean that way, Amzi," said Mrs. Waterman patiently. "We
mean--"

"Thunder! Go on!"

"We mean that the list should be representative--that old differences
should be put aside."

The wrinkles on Amzi's pink pate scampered back to find refuge in his
absurd fringe of pale-gold hair. Mrs. Waterman advanced her pickets
hurriedly.

"You know we've had to recognize the Holtons of late, disagreeable
though it has been. William isn't like Jack--you know that; and when he
brought his wife here, a perfect stranger, it didn't seem fair to ignore
her."

"The fact is," Mrs. Fosdick interpolated, "we simply couldn't, Amzi.
This town's too small to carry on a feud comfortably. We all stopped
speaking to the Holtons after poor Lois left, but the rest of them
couldn't help what Jack did; and, of course, Lois--"

"You want to ask Mr. and Mrs. William to Phil's party?"

Mrs. Fosdick, fearing from the fierceness with which he reduced the
matter to words, that he was about to veto the suggestion, hastened to
strengthen their case.

"For business reasons, Amzi, we feel that we ought to bury the hatchet.
Paul has to meet William Holton constantly. No matter what we think,
William _is_ really one of the wide-awake business men of the town, and
in all sorts of things; and Paul has to keep him on the executive
committee of the Commercial Club--the president of the First National
Bank can't be overlooked, though you can't ever doubt Paul's devotion to
all our interests."

"And," Mrs. Waterman added, "Mr. Holton retained Alec in a case last
winter."

"Yep," observed Amzi, "he did. It was that suit about opening up Chapel
Street and I was one of the defendants." And then he added, with
calculated softness, as though recalling a pleasant memory, "Alec lost
the suit."

The mention of the Chapel Street Extension had been an unfortunate slip
on Mrs. Waterman's part; but Amzi was generous.

"Bill Holton is undoubtedly a leading citizen," he observed, looking at
the ceiling and rubbing his nose absently. The irony of this, if he
intended any, was well hidden. William Holton, president of the First
National Bank, was a business rival, and Amzi never abused his
competitors. Having s