rt of
thing. We had a regular property room in the attic. We used to be
rigged out as something-or-other all day Saturday, usually."

"What were you?" Brother demanded eagerly. Unconsciously he dropped,
hugging his knees, by the side of the young man, and Caroline,
observing the motion, came over a little shyly and stood behind
them. The young lady raised her eyebrows and shot a side glance at
her host, but he smiled back at her brightly.

"Well, we did quite a little in the pirate line," he replied. "I had
an old Mexican sword and Ridgeway--that was my cousin--owned a pair
of handcuffs."

"Handcuffs!" Brother's jaw dropped.

"Yes, sir, handcuffs. It was rather unusual, of course, and he was
awfully proud of them. An uncle of his was a sheriff out in
Pennsylvania somewhere, and when he died he left 'em to Ridge in his
will. That was pretty grand, too, having it left in a will."

Caroline nodded and sat down on an old log behind the young man. A
long smear of brown, wet bark appeared on the nightgown, and one end
of the blue ribbon dribbled into a tiny pool of last night's shower,
caught in a hollow stone.

"It was a toss-up who'd be pirate king," the young man went on,
smiling over his shoulder at Caroline, "because I was older than he
was, handcuffs or not, and after all, a sword is something. This one
was hacked on the edge and every hack may have meant--probably
did--a life."

He paused dramatically.

"I bet you they did!" Brother declared, clapping his hands on his
knees.

"Weren't there any girls?"

Caroline slipped from the log and sprawled on the pine needles.

"Dear me, yes," said the young man, "I should say so. Four of them.
Winifred and Ethel and Dorothea and the Babe--about as big as your
General, there, and dreadfully greedy, the Babe was. Winifred had
the brains and she made up most of the games; I tell you, that girl
had a head!"

"Just like Caroline," Brother inserted eagerly.

"Probably," the young man agreed. "She was pretty certain to be
Fairy Queen, too, I remember. But Thea sewed the clothes and begged
the things we needed and looked after the Babe."

"And what did Ethel do?"

"Why, now you speak of it, I don't remember that Ethel did much of
anything but look pretty and eat most of the luncheon," he said.
"She used to be Pocahontas a good deal--she's very dark--and I
usually was Captain John Smith. Ridge was Powhatan. And Ethel's
married now. Good Lord! She has twins--of all t