the whole, clean."

"Clean," cried Patricia, "what about Jumbo's swing at Snoopy?"

"Oh, well, Snoopy had the puck, you know. It was a little off-colour, I
must confess."

"And now, Daddy," said Patricia, going at her father again, "we all want
to go down to the dance. There will be speeches, you know, and I do want
to hear Captain Jack," she added, not without guile. "Won't you let me
go with them? Hugh will take care of me."

"I think I should rather like to go myself," said her father. A shout
of approval rose from the whole company. "But," continued the doctor, "I
don't think I can. My dear, I think they might go for a few minutes--and
you can bring me in a full account of the speeches, Patricia," he added,
with a twinkle in his eye.

"But, my dear," exclaimed his wife, "this is one of those awful public
affairs. You can't imagine what they are like. The Mill hands will all
be there, and that sort of people."

"Well, my dear, Jack Maitland will be there, I fancy, and you were
thinking of going, Hugh?"

"Yes, sir, I am going. Of course there will be a number of the friends
of both teams, townspeople. Of course the Mill hands will be there, too,
in large numbers. It will be great fun."

"Well, my dear," said the doctor, "I think they might go down for a few
minutes. But be sure to be back before midnight. Remember, Patricia, you
are to do exactly as your sister says."

Then Vic said: "I shall keep a firm hand on her, sir."

"Oh, you darling," Patricia cried, hugging her father rapturously. "I
will be so good; and won't it be fun!"

Odd Fellows' Hall was elaborately decorated with bunting and evergreens.
The party from the Rectory, arriving in time to hear the closing
speeches of the two team captains, took their places in the gallery. The
speeches were brief and to the point.

The Captain of the visiting team declared that he had greatly enjoyed
the game. He was not quite convinced that the best team had won, but he
would say that the game had gone to the team that had put up the best
play. He complimented Captain Maitland upon his generalship. He had
known Captain Maitland in the old days and he ought to have been on the
lookout for the kind of thing he had put over. The Maitland Mill team
had made a perfectly wonderful recovery in the last quarter, though he
rather thought his friend Macnamara had helped it a little at a critical
point.

"He did that," exclaimed Jumbo Larson, with marked emphasis.