even at that early hour. It was but a trifling matter that had
caused all this electricity in the atmosphere, and the girls'
manner of taking it seemed to me most unreasonable. Within the
last few days the time had come round for the despatch of a
hamper to Edward at school. Only one hamper a term was permitted
him, so its preparation was a sort of blend of revelry and
religious ceremony. After the main corpus of the thing had been
carefully selected and safely bestowed--the pots of jam, the
cake, the sausages, and the apples that filled up corners so
nicely--after the last package had been wedged in, the girls had
deposited their own private and personal offerings on the top. I
forget their precise nature; anyhow, they were nothing of any
particular practical use to a boy. But they had involved some
contrivance and labour, some skimping of pocket money, and much
delightful cloud-building as to the effect on their enraptured
recipient. Well, yesterday there had come a terse
acknowledgment from Edward, heartily commending the cakes and the
jam, stamping the sausages with the seal of Smith major's
approval, and finally hinting that, fortified as he now was,
nothing more was necessary but a remittance of five shillings in
postage stamps to enable him to face the world armed against
every buffet of fate. That was all. Never a word or a hint of
the personal tributes or of his appreciation of them. To us--to
Harold and me, that is--the letter seemed natural and sensible
enough. After all, provender was the main thing, and five
shillings stood for a complete equipment against the most
unexpected turns of luck. The presents were very well in their
way--very nice, and so on--but life was a serious matter, and the
contest called for cakes and half crowns to carry it on, not gew-
gaws and knitted mittens and the like. The girls, however,