beyond endurance, and sometimes he would turn to his mother with a
reckless cry of:

"Why do you let them come here at all?"

For the friends of the family, who came there on an equal footing, he
showed more respect, and for a few of them he felt a real liking. As a
rule, however, they inspired him with nothing but indifference, and his
one reason for greeting them with some approach at cordiality was that
they brought a change into the general monotony of the home, and that
their coming might lead to the distribution of some dainties out of the
ordinary. Some of his parents' friends were poor and growing poorer.
Others had the appearance of doing well and hoping for more. It made no
difference to Keith. They were all middle-aged, sedate and preoccupied
with their own little affairs. They tried to be nice to him, but they
did not interest him, and his main grievance against them--not clearly
understood by any means--was that they brought nothing into his life of
what he wanted.

Had he been asked what he wanted, he would have answered unhesitatingly:

"Some one to play with."



XXII

Having whined and nagged until his mother no longer could bear it, Keith
at last obtained the cherished permission to go and play in the lane.