Mrs. Baron came in with the doctor then, and it remained for her to make the mistake which Baron had avoided. “You must let me pay you for your trouble,” she said. “I don’t know what would have happened but for you.” But the extraordinary creature grasped his cap in both hands and reddened again. “Who, me?” he said. “Oh, no, mother. I make mine flirting with beer-barrels.” He made his exit uneasily. They heard him whistling on the stairs. In the distance the front door closed with a bang. “What an extraordinary creature!” exclaimed Mrs. Baron. “Yes,” replied Baron, “I’m afraid he is--extraordinary.” He was remembering something about the misleading effects of a make-up. Surely this big fellow’s immense body and his rough speech were only a make-up, after all, hiding those qualities which even from the standpoint of a Baron were most to be sought and cherished! That was what Bonnie May had tried to impress upon him. Then, with sudden anxiety, Baron turned to his mother. “Where is Bonnie May?” he asked. “She went away this afternoon,” was the response. Mrs. Baron avoided her son’s eyes. She spoke rather guiltily. “She went away,” Baron mused disconsolately. “And it was to-night she was so eager to have somebody take her to see ‘The Break of Day.’” CHAPTER XXIV BONNIE MAY HIDES SOMETHING Baron made a wry face when he was told by Doctor Percivald that he had a very badly sprained ankle, and that he would have to remain on his back indefinitely. “Couldn’t it have been something less--ladylike?” he wanted to know. But Doctor Percivald, being a scientific-minded person, merely glanced at him impatiently and said nothing. However, he speedily discovered that being an invalid on what might be considered a preferred plan was not without its compensations. He became the pivot around which the affairs of the household revolved. He was constantly being considered and deferred to. It had been so long since any member of the family had been disabled that his affliction, being very limited in extent, was looked upon as a sort of luxury. However, though the family gathered about his bed occasionally to hold pleasant discussions, there were times when he lay alone--and these were the most profitable if not the most pleasant hours of all. The noises of the street, pleasantly muffled, reached him; movements in the house were faintly audible and pleasantly homely; the sun shone with a lonely brilliance against his walls. During such periods he took an inventory of life from a new angle. He sat in judgment upon himself like a disinterested person. Baron, disabled, critically surveyed Baron, able to be about.