The Sergeant-at-Arms of the House had provided the boys with a dressing room in one of the alcoves in the basement of the Capitol, and they frequently assembled here when not otherwise engaged. It was provided with basins, towels, clothes-closets, and the other furnishings of a room of this character. On cloudy days it was quite dark in this apartment. On the third day after the Presidential adventure, Barry hurried down to this room to wash his hands and comb his hair before beginning his duties at the noonday session of the House. It was a gloomy day, but he managed to find his way to the wash-basin. He opened the spigot and filled the receptacle with water. At that moment one of the boys attracted his attention to something that was going on in another part of the room, and in the interval another little fellow crept over to the basin and poured something into the water. Barry, all unsuspecting of what had gone on in the brief interval, returned to the basin and hastily washed his face and hands and then, boy-like, gave his hair a quick smooth-down with a brush that lay on the marble wash table. "Barry! Barry!" cried a voice at the door. "Mr. Carlton wants you right away." "I will come in a minute," was the reply. "I want to see if my hair's all right." "You haven't any time for that," was the retort. "He's calling you, and he'll be very angry if you don't come at once." Without further ado, Barry hurried up the marble stairway and along the corridor and into the House. Several persons who passed him on the way, looked at him and laughed, but he paid no attention to them. Presently he reached the House and hurried over to where Mr. Carlton sat. The Congressman looked at him for a moment and then burst into laughter. "Why, Barry," he exclaimed, "what in the world is the matter with you?" "Nothing," said the boy, innocently. "I was told that you wanted me in a hurry." "No," was the answer, "I don't want you, but if I were you I'd go and wash my face before I began my duties." "Wash my face?" echoed Barry. "What do you mean?" "Why, you look as though you had just emerged from darkest Africa." Wonderingly, Barry left the House and went out into the corridor again. He went down stairs and before going back into the dressing room, took a look at himself in a big pier mirror. What he saw caused him to gasp with horror. His face was all black and smeared. He looked at his hands. They were no better. As he turned from the glass a roar of laughter greeted him. A crowd of the boys stood behind him, giggling and going through all sorts of contortions. Barry turned from the glass indignantly. As he started into the dressing room he saw Joe Hart. "What does this mean," he exclaimed. "It means that the boys have given you the first degree."