"But look out for horses," warned his mother as he stood in the doorway
ready to run. "And don't run out of sight, and you must come when I
call, and--you had better keep away from other boys, or you may come
home quite naked this time."

"What do you mean," asked Keith, turning to see whether the mother was
joking or talking seriously.

"Don't you recall when those boys took your coat from you, and you came
up here crying?"

There could be no mistake about her meaning just what she said. Keith
stood still thinking very hard. Here was another memory that he could
not remember at all. There was not a trace of it left in his mind, and
yet it must have happened. It sounded exciting, too, and he wished to
know all about it.

"You had better close the door," his mother suggested.

"All right," said Keith, hastening to close the door from the outside
and make a dive for the stairway. There would be plenty of time to ask
about the loss of his coat later. He was halfway down the first flight
when he heard the kitchen door open behind him, and his heart leapt into
his throat.

"You must go down the stairs quietly," his mother called out from above,
whereupon Keith's heart resumed its normal position.

He descended the rest of that flight on tip-toe. The second one was
taken more rapidly, and down the last one he went two steps at a time,