It was on this day that Catty and me fixed things up for Banty and Skoodles. Banty and Skoodles was going to play a duet on the piano, as part of the celebration, so you kin see what kind of a celebration it was. Banty and Skoodles took lessons on the piano and had to practise an hour every day. They pertended to like it. I wouldn’t mind taking lessons on a snare-drum or a bugle, but a feller needs more fingers than a centipede’s got legs to play on a piano, and when you got it learned you hain’t got nothin’ to speak of when it comes to _noise_. No, sir, when I pick out an instrument to play jest gimme one that folks kin _hear_. Well, Banty and Skoodles were to play that duet at half past four in the afternoon, and they was plumb scairt about it, so to sort of git themselves into the humor to make a exhibition of themselves, they took and sneaked off to the swimming-hole down at the bend. As soon as Catty and me saw them head that way we knew where they was going, and I says to Catty: “They got all their best clothes on. Let’s sneak down and chaw-beef ’em.” Catty thought a minute and then he says he’s got a better idea than that. So we sneaked down to my house and went up in the attic and rummidged around till we found two of the dog-gonedest outfits of women’s clothes you ever seen. They was sich clothes as a respectable person wouldn’t have wore to put out a fire in a slaughter-house. One was a red-flannel underskirt that used to belong to a cook we had, and another was some pantalets like girls used to wear about a hunderd years ago, and the other things was to match. So we put off to the swimming-hole and there was Banty and Skoodles in all alone, a-splashing and enjoying themselves to beat the band. Catty says in a whisper, “Enjoy yourselves, fellers, for there’s a hour of trouble approachin’.” And we swiped every last pair of pants and coat and shirt and shoe they had and made off with them, leaving right on the spot them ridiculous clothes we got out of the attic. When Banty and Skoodles come out they would have their choice between wearing what they found and not wearing any at all.... And we knew they’d stay in till the last minute and then set on a log to let their hair dry before they bothered about their clothes. That would mean it would be time for them to play their duet when they come out. Banty and Skoodles didn’t _want_ to play that duet. I’ll give them credit for that. But they had to. I heard Mrs. Gage tell Banty she would ’most skin him alive if anything happened so he didn’t show up to play, and she was the kind to keep her word. So Catty and me figured that Banty and Skoodles would go and play no matter what clothes they had, because they wouldn’t dast do anything else—and they wouldn’t have time to change.