She began to laugh unrestrainedly, after an instant of shocked silence. She “stared him out of countenance,” as the saying is. He had never heard her laugh so hilariously. Yet even then he could not be blind to the look of appeal in her eyes--appeal, mingled with a defiant consciousness of guilt. Then she became grave and conciliatory. “I’ll go,” she said. “It’s nothing, after all. I think I get you. They’ve been after you, and you don’t want to be bothered any more. I think we ought to get it over with as soon as possible.” “We might go over this evening, immediately after dinner,” he suggested. She fidgeted. “But you know I’ll have to come back to-morrow in time to practise my music lesson?” she stipulated. Here was the opportunity to prove his complete fairness--to Thornburg. “There’s a piano over there. You can practise there, if you care to.” “No, I’m coming back. I have to take a lesson from Flora, too--and give _her_ a lesson.” Baron didn’t know what she was talking about. “Flora is giving me lessons in reading,” she explained. “You know I’m to go to school next fall.” “No one had mentioned it to me. But of course you will. Everybody goes to school. And about giving _her_ a lesson?” he added weakly. “I’m not sure I ought to talk about that. But why not--to you? You see, I’m teaching her how to laugh.” Baron stared. “Teaching her how to _laugh_!” he echoed. She was immediately on the defensive. “I certainly am. You must have seen that she doesn’t know how!” “Nonsense! You’re talking just plain nonsense!” “You might think so. A good many people would. But I wish you would tell me how many people you know who really laugh right.” “Right! There’s no question of laughing _right_. People laugh when there’s an occasion for laughing.” “They don’t really laugh, because they don’t know how. And very few people know anything about the right occasion to laugh.” “Meaning----” “I can make it quite plain. You see, it’s a custom to teach children how to talk, and some are taught how to sing. I say nothing about the silly things that are taught to ‘speak pieces,’ Heaven help them. They are taught these things because they wouldn’t know how to do them right if they were left to themselves. They try to talk and they try to sing, and they get it all wrong. And then they are taught.” “That’s an entirely different matter.” “Not at all. When they try to laugh they get it all wrong, too, but nobody thinks it’s necessary to teach them any better. You can see I’m perfectly right.” “I think what you say is quite absurd.”