"What?" I demanded, clutching his arm. "You wretched boy, don't tell me
after all I've done."

"Oh, confound it, Minnie," he exclaimed, "it's as much your fault as
mine. Couldn't you have found somebody else, instead of getting, of all
things on earth, somebody from the Sweet Peas Company?"

"I see," I said slowly. "Then it WASN'T coincidence about the mumps!"

"Confounded kid had them," he said with bitterness. "Minnie,
something's got to be done, and done soon. If you want the plain truth,
Miss--er--Summers and I used to be friends--and--well, she's suing
me for breach of promise. Now for heaven's sake, Minnie, don't make a
fuss--"

But my knees wouldn't hold me. I dropped down in a snow-drift and
covered my face.



CHAPTER XI

MISS PATTY'S PRINCE

I dragged myself back to the spring-house and dropped in front of the
fire. What with worry and no sleep and now this new complication I was
dead as yesterday's newspaper. I sat there on the floor with my hands
around my knees, thinking what to do next, and as I sat there, the
crayon enlargement of father on the spring-house wall began to shake its
head from side to side, and then I saw it hold out its hand and point a