e Pigeons, as the Candy Man
had named them.

The Apartment House did not exclude children, neither did it encourage
them, and when their individual quarters became too contracted to
contain their exuberance, they perforce sought the street. Like pigeons
they would descend in a flock, here, there, everywhere; perching in a
blissful row before the soda fountain in the drug store; or if the state
of the public purse did not warrant this, the curbstone and the wares
of the Candy Wagon were cheerfully substituted. By virtue no doubt of
her long legs and masterful spirit, Virginia ruled the flock. Under her
guidance they made existence a weariness to the several janitors on
the block.

As in defiance of law and order they circled one day on their roller
skates, down the avenue and up the broad alley behind the Y.M.C.A.,
round and round, Virginia issued her orders: "You all go on, I want to
talk to the Candy Man."

Being without as yet any theories, consistently democratic, she regarded
him as a friend and brother. A state of society in which the position of
Candy Man was next the throne, would have seemed perfectly logical to
Virginia.

[Illustration: VIRGINIA]

"You don't look much like Tim," she volunteered, dangling her legs from
the carriage block. Her hair was dark and severely bobbed; her miniature
nose was covered with freckles, and she squinted a little.

"No?" responded the Candy Man.

"Tim was Irish," she continued.

During business hours conversation of necessity took on a disjointed
character. Unless you had great power of concentration you forgot in the
intervals what you had been talking about. When a group of High School
boys had been served and had gone their hilarious way Virginia began
again. "You know the house with the Little Red Chimney?" she asked.

The Candy Man did.

"Well, a nice old man named Uncle Bob lives there, and I asked him why
that chimney was red, and he said because it was new. A branch of a tree
fell on the old one. The tree where the squirrel house is, you know."

The Candy Man remembered the tree.

"He said the doctor was going to have it painted, but he kind of liked
it red, and so did her ladyship."

"And who might her ladyship be?" the Candy Man inquired.

"That's what I asked him, and he said, 'You come over and see,' and
then he said--now listen to this, for it's just like a story." Virginia
lifted an admonishing finger. "He said, whenever I saw smoke coming out
o