Sally was vaguely worried by this sudden appearance of Charlie, she could not tell why. She had felt, all along, a great relief that he had taken so readily to the Henrietta treatment and she had felt some surprise at it. Having worried about it for an hour, she put it aside. It would be time enough to worry when she knew there was something to worry about. When that time did come, she would not have time to worry, for she would probably be too busy doing something about it. It was inaction that worried Sally, which is the case with most of us. At any rate, Charlie was all right for the present. He had only gone up to Henrietta's. Then Harry Carling came in: "J--j--just c--c--came d--d--down t--to s--s--see H--H--Ho--orry, y--y--you kn--n--now, S--S--Sally, f--f--for a m--m--min--n--nute." And Sally smiled and shook hands with Harry and hastened to say--to save Horry the painful experience of mentioning the matter--that he could go whenever he wanted to, so far as she knew. And they went out together. CHAPTER XX John Upjohn Junior ran into the house just in time for supper. He was so excited and his entrance was so precipitate that he almost collided with his mother, who had just reached the foot of the stairs; and only by the exercise of almost superhuman agility he managed to avoid that catastrophe. It was just as well, for many reasons; the reason which influenced John Junior being that such an accident was likely to result, then and thereafter, in more damage to himself than to his mother. He flung his cap down on the hall table with such violence that it slid off and fell upon the floor; but he could not pick it up at the moment because he was engaged in shedding his overcoat, which immediately slipped off of his arms upon a chair. He began to speak at once. "M--m--m--moth--ther!" he exclaimed explosively. "I--I--'v--ve--darn it all!" Mrs. Upjohn rebuked her offspring mildly. "John, what is the matter with you? Is your name Carling, that you can't speak without stuttering so? And I should think you would do well to moderate your language, at any rate when you speak to your mother. And you must learn to come into the house less like a tornado. Come in quietly, like a gentleman." John Junior gave a contemptuous grunt. "J--just been h--hearing the Carlings talking. That's wh--why I can't talk 'n' wh--why I st--st--stut--t--ter so. Gosh darn it! I mean hang it!" "Pick up your cap, John," Mrs. Upjohn commanded sternly. "And hang it, if you will." This pun of Mrs. Upjohn's somewhat softened her stern command. She could not help smiling. John kicked his cap out from behind the table and, picking it up, threw it at the hat-rack, where it happened to catch and stick. He began again. "I--I--I'v--ve g--g--got s--s--s--" "Suppose you go up and wash your face and hands," Mrs. Upjohn suggested, "and come down to supper. The bell rang before you came in. When you come down you may be able to talk intelligibly."