"I see," he said, admiringly. "I see."

"Well, they were under Willie's window-seat, all folded up; an' mamma
said she wondered what she better do, an' she was worried because she
didn't like to have Willie behave so's you an' Mrs. Parcher thought that
way about him. So she said the--the secret--what Willie wears, you
know, but they're really papa's an' aren't Willie's any more'n they're
MINE--well, she said the secret was gettin' a little teeny bit too tight
for papa, but she guessed they--I mean the secret--she said she guessed
it was already pretty loose for Willie; so she wrapped it up, an' I
went with her, an' we took 'em to a tailor, an' she told him to make 'em
bigger, for a surprise for papa, 'cause then they'll fit him again, Mr.
Parcher. She said he must make 'em a whole lot bigger. She said he must
let 'em way, WAY out! So I guess Willie would look too funny in 'em
after they're fixed; an' anyway, Mr. Parcher, the secret won't be home
from the tailor's for two weeks, an' maybe by that time Miss Pratt'll be
gone."

They had reached Mr. Parcher's gate; he halted and looked down fondly
upon this child who seemed to have read his soul. "Do you honestly think
so?" he asked.

"Well, anyway, Mr. Parcher," said Jane, "mamma said--well, she said
she's sure Willie wouldn't come here in the evening any more when YOU're
at home, Mr. Parcher--'cause after he'd been wearin' the secret every
night this way he wouldn't like to come and not have the secret on.
Mamma said the reason he would feel like that was because he was
seventeen years old. An' she isn't goin' to tell him anything about it,
Mr. Parcher. She said that's the best way."