invitation in his room.

"Confound it! I'm not ready to be discovered yet." Then he grinned, in
spite of himself, at the hint in the corner--"full dress." He flung it
contemptuously upon the washstand. "What an ass!" and it is to be feared
he referred to the sole representative of the notable House of Symes.

The initial step in Crowheart toward preparing for any function was a
hair washing, and the day following the mailing of the invitations saw
the fortunate recipients drying their hair on their respective back
steps or hanging over dividing fences with flowing locks in animated
discussion of the coming event.

That there was some uncertainty as to the exact meaning of the request
to wear "full dress" may be gathered from Mrs. Abe Tutts's observation,
while drying a few dank hairs at Mrs. Jackson's front gate, that it was
lucky she had not ripped up her accordion-pleated skirt which was as
full as anybody could wear and hope to get around in!

"'Tain't that," Mrs. Jackson snorted in her face. "The fuller a dress is
the less they is of it. You're thinkin' of a masquerade, maybe.
Personally myself," declared Mrs. Jackson modestly, "I don't aim to
expose my shoulder blades for nobody--not for _nobody_."

"I'd do it if I was you," replied Mrs. Tutts significantly.

"Why, if you was me?" inquired Mrs. Jackson, biting guilelessly.

"Because"--Mrs. Tutts backed out of reach.--"they's a law agin' carryin'
concealed weapons."

Mrs. Tutts did not tarry to complete the drying of her hair, for Mrs.
Jackson had succeeded in wrenching a paling from the fence and was
fumbling at the catch on the gate.

The dining-room of the Terriberry House was a dazzling sight to the
arriving guests, who were impressed to momentary speechlessness by such
evidences of wealth and elegance as real carnations and smilax and a
real orchestra imported from the nearest large town on the main line.
The sight which held their eyes longest, however, was a large glass bowl
on a table in an anteroom, beside which, self-conscious but splendid in
new evening clothes, stood Mr. Symes urging an unknown but palatable
beverage hospitably upon each arrival.

"This is cert'nly a swell affair," they confided to each other in
whispers behind the back of their hands after the first formal
greetings. "Trust Andy P. for doin' things right."

They frankly stared at each other in unaccustomed garb and sometimes as
frankly laughed.

"Gosh!" said Mr. Terriberr