of losing him to go out for dinner. By three
in the afternoon he had grown impatient. He
went to the house next door and rang the
bell. There was no response. He thun-
dered another appeal. An old woman with
a cloth about her head answered the door.
She was very deaf, and Boyce had difficulty
in making himself understood.

"The family is in the country," was all she
would say. "The family will not be home
till September."

"But there is some one living here?"
shouted Boyce.

"_I_ live here," she said with dignity, put-
ting back a wisp of dirty gray hair behind
her ear. "It is my house. I sublet to the
family."

"What family?"

But the old creature was not communica-
tive.

"The family that lives here," she said.

"Then who plays the piano in this house?"
roared Boyce. "Do you?"