her, and stared with
all her might.

"Look at him," she commanded Allee in a stage whisper.

"What for?"

"Just 'cause. Glare for all you're worth!"

"But why?"

"I'll tell you byme-by."

So dutiful Allee "glared for all she was worth," and soon the sleeper
grew restless. Then he opened his eyes.

"We did it!" crowed Peace shrilly, spatting her hands together so
suddenly that he jumped.

"Did what, you young jackanapes?" he growled, rubbing his sleepy eyes, a
trifle vexed at having been disturbed before his nap was out.

"Woke you up with just looking at you! We never touched you at all--just
glared and glowered as hard as ever we could, and you woke up like Faith
said you would."

"Faith? Did she send you here to wake me up? Have she and Gail come
home?"

"Oh, no, they ain't coming till after the Fourth. They're going to stay
and help Frances celebrate a family of eight children which have never
had any fireworks in all their lives. That's what we came to see you
about, but you were asleep and we got tired of waiting, so we tried to
see if we could stare you awake, like the girls said folks could do if
they looked long and hard enough. It worked."

"Something did," he smiled grimly. "Was it so important that you had to
tell it immediately? Couldn't it have kept until dinner hour?"

"You and grandma are invited out for dinner this evening, and anyway, we
wanted to have a private _conflab_ with you all by yourself before we
told the others our plan."

"Plan? Another plan! My sakes, Peace, where do you keep them all?"

The round, eager face grew long. It wasn't like grandpa to make fun of
her. What could be the matter?

"I guess you're not int'rested," she said in heavy disappointment.
"Come, Allee, we better be going."

"Indeed you better not!" he cried, thoroughly aroused by her look and
tone, and remembering that she was unaccountably sensitive to the moods
of her loved ones. "I won't tease you another speck. Come and tell
grandpa what it is now that you want me to help with."

"We don't want your help at all," she answered gravely, letting him draw
her down to one knee, while he enthroned Allee on the other. "All you've
got to do is say yes."

Knowing from experience what wild-cat schemes were often evolved by that
tireless brain, he cautiously replied, "'Yes' is an easy word to speak,
girlies, but sometimes 'no' is wisest, even if it is hard to learn."

"Oh, I think you will like this plan