believe it!”

But she fled upstairs, nevertheless, with Sid and Mary at her heels.

And her face grew white, too, and her lip trembled. When she reached the bedside she gasped out:

“You, Tom! Tom, what’s the matter with you?”

“Oh, auntie, I’m — ”

“What’s the matter with you — what is the matter with you, child?”

“Oh, auntie, my sore toe’s mortified!”

The old lady sank down into a chair and laughed a little, then cried a little, then did both together. This restored her and she said:

“Tom, what a turn you did give me. Now you shut up that nonsense and climb out of this.”