aster-stroke.

"But you've got nothing for me to secretary, Mr. Triggs," said
Patricia, not quite understanding where the joke came.

"Ah! 'Ettie understands. 'Ettie knows that every man that ain't
married marries 'is secretary, and she's dead afraid of me marrying."

"Am I to take that as a proposal, Mr. Triggs?" asked Patricia demurely.

Mr. Triggs chuckled.

"Now we'll forget about everything except that we are truants," cried
Patricia. "I've earned a holiday, I think. On Sunday and Monday there
was Aunt Adelaide, yesterday it was national importance of pigs and----"

"Hi! Hi! Taxi! Taxi!" Mr. Triggs yelled, dashing forward and
dragging Patricia after him. A taxi was crossing a street about twenty
yards distance. Mr. Triggs was impulsive in all things.

Having secured the taxi and handed Patricia in, he told the man to
drive to the Zoo, and sank back with a sigh of pleasure.

"Now we're going to 'ave a very 'appy afternoon, me dear," he said.
"Don't you worry about pigs."

Arrived at the Zoo, Mr. Triggs made direct for the monkey-house.
Patricia, a little puzzled at his choice, followed obediently. Arrived
there he walked round the cages, looking keenly at the animals.
Finally selecting a little monkey with a blue face, he pointed it out
to Patricia.

"They was just like that little chap," he said eagerly. "That one over
there, see 'im eating a nut?"

"Yes, I see him," said Patricia; "but who was just like him?"

"I'll tell you when we get outside. Now come along."

Patricia followed Mr. Triggs, puzzled to account for his strange manner
and sudden lack of interest in the monkey-house. They walked along for
some minutes in silence, then, when they came to a quiet spot, Mr.
Triggs turned to Patricia.

"You see, me dear," he said, "it was there that I asked her."

"That you asked who what?" enquired Patricia, utterly at a loss.

"You see we'd been walking out for nearly a year; I was a foreman then.
I 'ad tickets given me for the Zoo one Sunday, so I took 'er. When we
was in the monkey-house there was a couple of little chaps just like
that blue-faced little beggar we saw just now." There was a note of
affection in Mr. Triggs's voice as he spoke of the little blue-faced
monkey. "And one of 'em 'ad 'is arm round the other and was a-making
love to 'er as 'ard as ever 'e could go," continued Mr. Triggs. "And I
says to Emily, just to see 'ow she'd take it, 'That might be you an'
me, Emily