ed him. When
he had left, it was Aunt Stanshy's turn to do suthin'. I heard it all, for
I was in the yard doin' a few chores for Stanshy. Fust, there was a slam
in the barn chamber. I jest slipped up them stairs and peeked over the
edge of the floor. Stanshy had pulled the shutter in with a vengeance.
Then she hooked it and drove the nails over the hook as tight as bricks. O
she is a woman of 'mazin' vigor, Stanshy is, when she gets agoin'. She
came down stairs and she fastened up this door, and then I seed her
fumblin' in her pocket, and, pullin' out a piece of chalk, she began to
write. When Stanshy had finished, of course, I was at my chores agin very
busily engaged. Well, since that day, there has been silence between
Stanshy and Tim like that round the old tombstones in the church-yard. I
hope some day it will be different."

With this benevolent wish, Simes closed.

"A bad scrape," remarked Charlie.

"Yes, people ought not to drink so much," said the abstemious and ascetic
Simes. "They ought to stop this side of a drop too much."

"They ought to stop this side of any drop at all," stoutly affirmed the
young member of Mr. Walton's temperance society.

"Pre--pre--haps so," replied Simes.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ENTERTAINMENT.

Aunt Stanshy, as she looked down upon the sitting-room table, saw
Charlie's curly head bending over pen, ink, and card-board. He had cut the
card-board into strips three inches long and two inches wide.

"What have you there?"

Charlie was too much occupied to notice this remark.

"What are you doing?"

"Making tickets."

"Tickets?"

"Yes, will you buy one?"

"I want to see first what I am going to buy."

"You may."

Aunt Stanshy then read these lines on a slip of card-board:

-------------------------------------------
| Ticket to the Up-the-Ladder Boys' |
| ENTERTAINMENT. |
| Admission, 2 nails. Seat, 10 nails. |
| Elders' admission, 1 cent. Seat, 2 cents. |
-------------------------------------------

"O, that is it I Could I go in for nails, or a cent?"

"For a cent."

"Then I'm an 'elder.'"

"Yes, aunty."

"Well, I'll engage a seat."

"Goody! That will be two cents. We did think of breaking up the club, but
this will cheer them up. Wouldn't it be too bad to give up? Our new silk
badges that our teacher promised, we have this week."

"The shields?"

"Yes, spick and span new."

"I