"All who prefer to recite, 'Now I sit me up to eat,' please raise their hands. Raise 'em up, raise 'em up!" he commanded with the gun. "Put up both hands, while you're at it." Up went all the hands. Mrs. Dick arrived, and stood looking on and panting in excitement. "Thanks for this unanimous vote," Van resumed. "I want to inform you boarders in particular that if ever I hear of one of you missing a meal of Algy's cooking, or playing hookey from this lodging-house, as long as Mrs. Dick desires your inglorious company, I'll hand you forthwith over to the pound-keeper with instructions not to waste his chloroform, but to drown the whole litter in a bag." "Oh, well!" said the spokesman, "I'd just as soon eat the chink's cookin', if it's good." "Me, too," said a follower, meek as a lamb. A number echoed "Me, too." One added: "We was just having a little bit of fun." "Well," said Van judicially, "Algy's entitled to his share." He raised his voice: "Hey there, Algy--come out here and play with the boys." Mrs. Dick had caught sufficient breath to explode. "Fun!" she said. "My windows broken! My house all upset. Snakes alive, if ever I heard----" Algy appeared and interrupted. "What's mallah you, Van?" he said. "I got no time fool lound now. Been play too much. All time play, that velly superstich! Nobody got time to work." "That's all right," Van assured him. "The boys here wish to apologize for wasting your valuable time. In fact, they insist. Now then, boys, down on your knees, every Jack in the crowd." That gun of his had a horribly loose way of waving about to cover all the men. They slumped to, rather than knelt on, their knees. "Suminagot!" said Algy. "All time too muchee monkey fooling! My dinner not git leady, Van, you savvy that? What's mallah you?" Van ignored the cook, in addressing the men. "It's your earnest desire to apologize, boys, I believe," he said. "All in favor will please say Aye." The men said Aye in growlings, rumblings, and pipings. Van addressed his cook. "Do you want them to kiss your hand?" "_Ah_! Unema! hong oy!" said Algy blasphemously. "You makee me velly sick! Just wash my hands for finish my dinner. Too much monkey-doodle!" and off he went to his work, followed at once by Mrs. Dick. "Algy's too modest," Van assured the crowd. "And none of you chaps are fit to apologize to Mrs. Dick, so you'd better go wash up for dinner. But don't let me hear so much as a peep about Algy from one of this bunch, or Eden will turn into Hades." As the men arose to their feet sheepishly, and began to slink away he added to the spokesman, "You there with the face for pie, go up to my camp and call the boys to feed." The men disappeared. Van, left alone, was turning away when his glance was attracted to the window, up above, where Beth was looking down. His face turned red to the topmost rim of his ears. The girl was pale, but resolute.