tified under any circumstances of atrocity. She was eloquent
truly, and a picture of grace and girlish dignity, even when she
was most vigorous. Nothing could have been more militant than her
denunciation of militancy.

"She's an actual wonder," Fred said, when the two had got back to Mrs.
Meigs's, afterward. "Don't you look at me like that: I'm talkin' about
her as a public character, and there's nothin' personal about it. You
let me alone."

Ramsey was not clear as to his duty. "Well--"

"If any person makes a public speech," Fred protested, "I got a perfect
right to discuss 'em, no matter what you think of 'em"--and he added
hastily--"or _don't_ think of 'em!"

"Look here--"

"Good heavens!" Fred exclaimed. "You aren't expecting to interfere with
me if I say anything about that little fat Werder girl that argued for
Germany, are you? Or any of the other speakers? I got a right to talk
about 'em just as public speakers, haven't I? Well, what I say is:
Dora Yocum as an orator is just an actual perfect wonder. Got any
objections?"

"N-no."

"All right then." Fred settled himself upon the window seat with a pipe,
and proceeded, "There's something about her, when she stands there, she
stands so straight and knows just what she's up to, and everything, why,
there's something about her makes the cold chills go down your
spine--I mean _my_ spine, not yours particularly! You sit down--I
mean _anybody's_ spine, doggone it!" And as Ramsey increased the
manifestations of his suspicions, lifting a tennis racket over the
prostrate figure, "Oh, murder," Fred said, resignedly. "All right, we'll
change the subject. That fat little Werder cutie made out a pretty good
case for Germany, didn't she?"

Ramsey tossed the racket away, disposed himself in an easy chair with
his feet upon the table, and presently chuckled. "You remember the time
I had the fuss with Wesley Bender, back in the ole school days?"

"Yep."

"All the flubdub this Werder girl got off to-night puts me in mind of
the way I talked that day. I can remember it as well as anything! Wesley
kept yelpin' that whoever mentioned a lady's name in a public place was
a pup, and of course I didn't want to hit him for that; a boy's got
a reg'lar instinct for tryin' to make out he's on the right side in a
scrap, and he'll always try to do something, or say something, or he'll
get the other boy to say someting to make it look as if the other boy
was in the wrong and bega