knew the child had not been smothered.

He felt it was stupid in him not to have gone home at once. But now
he was so sure the parson would drop the child, that he had to
stay.

He lingered a moment in the stable-yard, then went straight over to
the house and up the steps into the hallway.

It is the worst possible form for the father to appear before the
clergyman, particularly when his child has ouch sponsors as Eric of
Falla, and his wife. When the door to the pastor's study swung open
and Jan of Ruffluck in his soiled workaday clothes calmly shuffled
into the room, just after the pastor had begun the service and
there was no way of driving him out, the godparents swore to
themselves that once they were home they would take him severely
to task for his unseemly behaviour.

The christening passed off as it should without the slightest
occasion for a mishap, and Jan of Ruffluck had nothing for his
intrusion. Just before the close of the service he opened the door
and quietly slipped out again, into the hallway. He saw of course
that everything seemed to go quite smoothly and nicely without his
help.

In a little while Eric of Falla and his wife also came out into the
hall. They were going across to the kitchen, where the mistress of
Falla had left the child's outer wraps and shawls. Eric went ahead
and opened the door for his wife, whereupon two kittens came
darting into the hallway and tumbled over each other right in front