That was all—no name, no date, no handwriting. I don’t know what made me think right off of Mr. Whitney, unless it was because there was no one else who knew of what I’d done and could have afforded to send that much. The only other person it could have been was Jack Reddy, and somehow or other, after he’d asked me to be his friend, I felt certain he wouldn’t send me money, no matter what I’d done for him. Friends don’t pay each other. I guess there wasn’t a more elated person in Longwood that morning than yours truly. I’d had that much before—saved it—but I’d never had it fall out of the sky that way in one beautiful, crisp, new bill. The Jew and the Irish in me had some tussle, one wanting to salt it down in the bank and the other to blow it in. But that time the Irish had a walk-over, probably because I was limp and weary with all the excitement of the last two months and felt the need of doing something foolish to tone me up. When I thought of the clothes I could buy with it, the Jew just lay down without a murmur and you’d have supposed I was all County Galway if you’d seen me writing a list of things on the back of the envelope. If it’ll make you think better of me I’ll confess that I wanted to look nice on that trip with Babbitts, the first real jaunt we’d ever taken, for I didn’t count those times in New York when we were sleuthing after Cokesbury. Just once in my life I was going to have a real blowout, and I wanted the chap who was taking me to feel he’d some lady with him. With three of us in the office I fixed things so I got Saturday afternoon and I hiked over to town with that bill burning in my purse like a live coal. And, my it was great spending it! I was cool on the outside, looking haughty at the goods and casting them aside contemptuous on chairs, but inside I was drunk with the feeling of riches. I bought a one-piece silk dress that fitted me like every measure was mine and a long black plush coat, rich fine plush like satin, that was draped something elegant and fastened in front with a novelty ornament. For a hat I selected a small dark felt, nothing flashy, no trimming, just a rosette at one side. And with the last three dollars a purse, black striped silk, oval shaped with a ribbon to hang it to your wrist. It was six when I got home, carrying the boxes myself—all but the coat; that I _had_ to wear—pretty nearly dead with the weight of them, but not regretting—neither the Jew nor the Irish—one nickel of it. Midday Monday, when I came down to the parlor where Babbitts was waiting, he put his hand over his eyes like the Indians in front of cigar stores and pretended to stagger. [Illustration: _I came down to the parlor where Babbitts was waiting_] "What good deed have I ever done," says he, "that I’m allowed to walk the world with such a queen!" Then I felt certain that to break loose now and again is a healthy change. XVI