a period of
severe maternal and tutorial preoccupation.

He seated himself without parley, and the pufformance was offered for
his entertainment with admirable conscientiousness. True to the Lady
Clara caste and training, Roderick's pale, fat face expressed nothing
except an impervious superiority and, as he sat, cold and unimpressed
upon the front bench, like a large, white lump, it must be said that
he made a discouraging audience "to play to." He was not, however,
unresponsive--far from it. He offered comment very chilling to the warm
grandiloquence of the orator.

"That's my uncle Ethelbert's dachshund," he remarked, at the beginning
of the lecture. "You better take him back if you don't want to get
arrested." And when Penrod, rather uneasily ignoring the interruption,
proceeded to the exploitation of the genuine, full-blooded Indian dog,
Duke, "Why don't you try to give that old dog away?" asked Roderick.
"You couldn't sell him."

"My papa would buy me a lots better 'coon than that," was the
information volunteered a little later, "only I wouldn't want the nasty
old thing."

Herman of the missing finger obtained no greater indulgence. "Pooh!"
said Roderick. "We have two fox-terriers in our stables that took prizes
at the kennel show, and their tails were BIT off. There's a man that
always bites fox-terriers' tails off."

"Oh, my gosh, what a lie!" exclaimed Sam Williams ignorantly.

"Go on with the show whether he likes it or not, Penrod. He's paid his
money."

Verman, confident in his own singular powers, chuckled openly at the
failure of the other attractions to charm the frosty visitor, and,
when his turn came, poured forth a torrent of conversation which was
straightway damned.

"Rotten," said Mr. Bitts languidly. "Anybody could talk like that. _I_
could do it if I wanted to."

Verman paused suddenly.

"YES, you could!" exclaimed Penrod, stung. "Let's hear you do it, then."

"Yessir!" the other partner shouted. "Let's just hear you DO it!"

"I said I could if I wanted to," responded Roderick. "I didn't say I
WOULD."

"Yay! Knows he can't!" sneered Sam.

"I can, too, if I try."

"Well, let's hear you try!"

So challenged, the visitor did try, but, in the absence of an impartial
jury, his effort was considered so pronounced a failure that he was
howled down, derided, and mocked with great clamours.

"Anyway," said Roderick, when things had quieted down, "if I couldn't
get up a better show