when I'm in it, ye don't."

Thus with Nathan. But with Morris he was more frank.

"There's one thing," said he, when he found that crack long-jumper in
the boys' yard at luncheon time, "what I'm going to let _you_ do."

"Is it nice for me?" queried the Custodian of Gold Fish.

"Great!" answered Patrick. "I'm goin' to let ye ast Miss Bailey to the
party."

Morris glowed with pride and importance. "I likes that," he breathed.

"Well, you can do it. Ye don't want to tell her what kind of a party it
is. Just go up to her after school and say that 'we invites her to come
to my yard at ten o'clock in the mornin', and bring seven prizes with
her.'"

"Oh--oh-h-h! I couldn't to say nothings like that," Morris remonstrated.
"I guess you don't know what is polite. I don't know has Missis Bailey
got seven prizes."

"She'll get 'em all right, all right," Patrick assured him; "ain't she
always givin' 'em around? You just tell her 'ten o'clock and seven
prizes.' It's all right, I tell you. I could'a showed ye the picture on
that paper of a lady standin' up givin' out the prizes. An' Miss
Bailey's the only lady goin' to be there."

"It ain't polite," Morris maintained. But he had during these last
athletic weeks broken so many of his canons and his laws that he
accepted this last command with more docility than Patrick had expected.

"A party!" cried Miss Bailey, "now isn't that nice? And for to-morrow
morning. Of course I'll be there. And what kind of a party is it to be,
dear?"

"It's something you says you likes you shall see. Und on the party you
shall see it. Und you shall have a s'prise over it."

"You grow more interesting every moment," said Teacher. "Tell me more. I
love surprises."

"There ain't no more," Morris answered, "on'y," and he took his
conversational running-jump, "on'y maybe you shall bring seven prizes
mit. I says maybe you ain't got seven prizes. On'y Patrick says I shall
say it out like that, 'you shall come on the party und bring seven
prizes.'"

"Seven!" reflected Teacher. "That is rather a large order, but I think I
can manage it. Have you any idea, Morris, of what kind they should be?"

"Teacher, yiss, ma'am," Morris answered, "'fer-boys' prizes."

"I think I understand," and Miss Bailey smiled at him. "You may tell
Patrick that I and 'seven fer-boys' prizes' will be at his house in the
morning."

She regarded the subject as closed. Not so Morris. Through all the
succeeding occupations