en he
devised the obstructions, nor was he now in such a frame of mind. He was
pessimistic in regard to his future, and also embarrassed in
anticipation of some explanations it would be necessary to make to his
partner. He strongly hoped that Henry's regular after-school appearance
at the Newspaper Building would precede Florence's, because these
explanations required both deliberation and tact, and he was convinced
that it would be almost impossible to make them at all if Florence got
there first.

He understood that he was unfortunately within her power; and he saw
that it would be dangerous to place in operation for her exclusion from
the Building this new mechanism contrived with such hopeful care, and at
a cost of two dollars and twenty-five cents taken from the _Oriole's_
treasury. What he wished Henry to believe was that for some good reason,
which Herbert had not yet been able to invent, it would be better to
show Florence a little politeness. He had a desperate hope that he might
find some diplomatic way to prevail on Henry to be as subservient to
Florence as she had seemed to demand, and he was determined to touch any
extremity of unveracity, rather than permit the details of his answer
in "Truth" to come to his partner's knowledge. Henry Rooter was not
Wallie Torbin; but in possession of material such as this he could
easily make himself intolerable.

Therefore, it was in a flurried state of mind that Herbert waited; and
when his friend appeared, over the fence, his perturbation was not
decreased. He even failed to notice the unusual gravity of Henry's
manner.

"Hello, Henry! I thought I wouldn't start in working till you got here.
I didn't want to haf to come all the way downstairs again to open the
door and hi'st our good ole plank up again."

"I see," said Henry, glancing nervously at their good ole plank. "Well,
I guess Florence'll never get in _this_ good ole door--that is, she
won't if we don't let her, or something."

This final clause would have astonished Herbert if he had been less
preoccupied with his troubles. "You bet she won't!" he said
mechanically. "She couldn't ever get in here again--if the _family_
didn't go intafering around and give me the dickens and everything,
because they think--they _say_ they do, anyhow--they say they
think--they think----"

He paused, disguising a little choke as a cough of scorn for the
family's thinking.

"What did you say your family think?" Henry aske