ately."

"It's just like a girl to act that way about my going, as if I wanted
to come myself at all," said the boy, following his sister's pulling
hand, and still grinning understandingly at Anderson over his
shoulder.

Charlotte turned in the doorway and looked majestically at Anderson.
"I thought, when I obliged my brother to return here and pick up the
candy, that I was dealing with a gentleman," said she. "Otherwise I
might not have considered it necessary."

Even then Anderson could scarcely restrain his laughter, although he
was conscious that he was mortally offending her. He managed to gasp
out something about his surprise and the triviality of the whole
affair of the candy.

"I regret that you should consider the taking anything without leave,
however worthless, as trivial," said she. "I have not been so brought
up, and neither has my brother." She said this with an indescribable
air of offended rectitude. She regarded him like a small, incarnate
truth and honesty. Then she turned, and her brother was following
with a reluctant backward pull at her leading hand, when suddenly he
burst forth with a shout of malicious glee.

"Say, you are making me go away, when I haven't given him back his
old candy, after all! He didn't take it."

Charlotte promptly caught the paper bag from her brother's hand,
advanced upon Anderson, and thrust it in his face as if it had been a
hostile weapon. Anderson took it perforce.

"Here is your property," said she, proudly, but she seemed almost as
childish as her brother.

"I ain't said any apology, either," said Eddy.

"The coming here and returning it is apology enough," said Anderson.

He looked foolishly at the ridiculous paper bag, sticky with
lollipops. For the first time he felt distinctly ashamed of his
business. It seemed to him, as he realized its concentration upon the
petty details of existence, its strenuous dwelling upon the small,
inane sweets and absurdities of daily life which ought to be
scattered with a free hand, not made subjects of trade and barter, to
be entirely below a gentleman. He gave the paper bag an impatient
toss out of the open window over the back of the sleeping cat, which
started a little, then stretched himself luxuriously and slept again.

"There, he's thrown it out of the window!" proclaimed Eddy. He looked
accusingly at Charlotte. "I might just as well have kept it as had it
thrown out of the window," said he. "What good is it to a