"Go down to the board of trade," William suggested. The Judge laughed, and looked as if he were proud of his family joke. "Won’t you smoke, William?" "No," replied the humorous necessity, "I’ll wait till I go to my room and then smoke sure enough—a pipe." "Smoke it here." "No, I’ll put it off—always enjoy it more then. I recollect the tenth of June, sixty-three—was it the tenth or the eleventh? Anyway, a party of us were going—it was the eleventh. Yes, the eleventh. I was only a young fellow at the time, but I liked a pipe, and on that day—no, it must have been the tenth. John, did I say the eleventh?" "I think you hung a little in favor of the eleventh, William." He winked at Bradley. "And I was sorry to see it, too, for of all the days in June, the tenth is my favorite." William looked at him and cleared his throat, but the Judge wore the mask of seriousness. The brother proceeded: "Well, I’m reasonably certain it was the tenth. Yes. Well, on the tenth of June, sixty-three, a party of us were going over to—yes, the tenth—over to—" "Hold on a moment," said the Judge. "Are you quite sure it was the tenth? We want it settled, don’t we, Bradley? Of course, you are much younger than we are, Bradley, but you are old enough to enter into the importance of this thing. As far as he can, a preacher should be as exact as a judge." Bradley nodded, laughing, and the flame of William’s anger burst forth.’ "Confound it, John, don’t you suppose I know?" "I hope so, William," said the Judge. William snorted. "You don’t do anything of the sort, and you know it." "Well, if I don’t I know it, of course, but—" "Oh, you be confound. You are all the time—" "Go ahead with your story." "I’ll do nothing of the sort, sir; I’ll do nothing of the sort. You are all the time trying to put it on me, and I’ll do nothing of the sort; and the first thing you know, I’ll pick up and leave here. I was simply going to tell of something that took place on the—Mr. Bradley, did I say the tenth?" The preacher had not been able to keep a straight face, but with reasonable gravity he managed to say that the tenth was the final date agreed upon. "By all parties concerned," said the Judge, puffing at his cigar. William scratched his head. "But, after all, it must have been on the eleventh." "Knocks out my favorite again," the Judge muttered, but William took no notice of the interruption. It is the duty of a family joke to be forbearing. "Ab Tollivar came to me on that day," William began, "and said that there was to be—" "On the tenth—came to you on the tenth?" the Judge broke in. "I said the eleventh."