"Stop!"

"And tell Maggie," pursued Travis, "to fricassee her chicken, and
not to have it too well done--"

"Sto-o-op!" whined Snooky again.

"And leave the heart out for Papum. He likes the heart--"

"Sto-o-op!"

"Unbiassed by prejudice," murmured Mr. Bessemer, "vigorous and to
the point. I'll have another roll."

"Pa, make Howard stop!"

"Howard!" exclaimed Travis; "what is it now?"

"Howard's squirting watermelon-seeds at me," whined Snooky, "and
Pa won't make him stop."

"Oh, I didn't so!" vociferated Howard. "I only held one between
my fingers, and it just kind of shot out."

"You'll come upstairs with me in just five minutes," announced
Travis, "and get ready for Sunday-school."

Howard knew that his older sister's decisions were as the laws of
the Persians, and found means to finish his breakfast within the
specified time, though not without protest. Once upstairs,