bserved, with a wink, "only. . . . Heard
any extry hurrahin' over to your place lately?"

"No. Captain, what do you mean?"

"I don't mean nothin'. But I shouldn't wonder if the Great Panjandrum
and his folks was reminded that that Lane was still open, that's all.
Ho! ho! So long, Ros."

I did not catch his meaning at the time. A few days later I discovered
it by accident. I had been up to the village and was on my way home by
the short cut. As I crossed the field behind Sylvanus Snow's abandoned
house, the spot where Miss Colton and I had waited on the porch the
night of the thunder shower, I heard the rattle of a cart going down the
Lane. There was nothing unusual in this, of itself, but with it I heard
the sound of loud voices. One of these voices was so loud that I caught
the words:

"Now, boys, start her up! Three cheers for the Star Spangled Banner and
make 'em loud. Let her go!"

The cheers followed, uproarious ones.

"Try it again," commanded the voice. "And keep her up all the way along.
We'll shake up the 'nerves' I guess. Hooray!"

This was enough. I understood now what Dean had meant by the Coltons
realizing that the Lane was still open. I ran at full speed through the
scrub and bushes, through the grove, and emerged upon the Lane directly
opposite the Colton estate. The wagon--Zeb Kendrick's weir cart--was
approaching. Zeb was driving and behind him in the body of the cart
were four or five young fellows whom I recognized as belonging to the
"billiard room gang," an unorganized society whose members worked only
occasionally but were responsible for most of the mischief and disorder
in our village. Tim Hallet, a sort of leader in that society, with the
reputation of having been expelled from school three times and never
keeping a job longer than a fortnight, was on the seat beside Kendrick,
his back to the horse. Zeb was grinning broadly.

The wagon came nearer, the horse barely moving. Tim Hallet waved his
arm.

"Now, boys," he shouted, "let's have some music."

"'Everybody works but father,
And he sets around all day.'--

Whoop her up!"

They whooped her up. I stepped out into the road.

"Here!" I shouted. "Stop that! Stop it, do you hear! Kendrick, what is
all this?"

The song stopped in the middle of the verse. Zeb jerked the reins and
shouted "Whoa!" Hallet and his chorus turned. They had been gazing at
the big house, but now they turned and looked at me.

"Hello, Ros!" s