There's smoke comin' from the kitchen chimney, though, so we wanders around front, bringin' up under the big lilac bush. It's just covered with blossoms--a truck-load, I should say; and it did seem a shame, Vee bein' so strong for 'em, that she couldn't have one little spray. "About a quarter a bunch, them would be on Broadway," says I, diggin' up some change. "Well, here's where Neighbor Shinn makes a sale." And, before Vee can object, I've snapped off the end of a twig. I'd just dropped the quarter in an envelop and was stickin' it on the end of the broken branch, when the front door opens, and out dashes this tall gink with the rusty Vandyke and the hectic face. Yep, it's a lurid map, all right. Some of it might have been from goin' without a hat in the wind and weather, for his forehead and bald spot are just as high-colored as the rest; but there's a lot of temper tint, too, lightin' up the tan, and the deep furrows between the eyes shows it ain't an uncommon state for him to be in. Quite a husk he is, costumed in a plaid golf suit, and he bores down on us just as gentle as a tornado. "I say, you!" he calls out. "Stop where you are." "Don't hurry," says I. "We'll wait for you." "Ye will, wull ye!" he snarls, as he comes stampin' up in front of us. "Ye'd best. And what have ye there, Miss? Hah! Pickin' me posies, eh? And trespassin', too." "That's right," says I. "Petty larceny and breakin' and enterin'. I'm the guilty party." "I'm sure there's nothing to make such a fuss about," says Vee, eyin' him scornful. "Oh, ho!" says he. "It's a light matter, I suppose, prowling around private grounds and pilfering? I ought to be taking it as a joke, eh? Don't ye know, you two, I could have you taken in charge for this?" "Breeze ahead, then," says I. "Call the high sheriff. Only let's not get all foamed up over it, Mr. MacGregor Shinn." "Ha!" says he. "Then ye know who I am? Maybe you're stopping up at the big house?" "We are guests of Mr. Ellins, your neighbor," puts in Vee. "He's no neighbor of mine," snaps Shinn. "Not him. His bulldog worries me cat, his roosters wake me up in the morning, and his Dago workmen chatter about all day long. No, I'll not own such a man as neighbor. Nor will I have his guests stealing my posies." "Then take it," says Vee, throwing the lilac spray on the ground. "You'll find a quarter stuck on the bush," says I. "Sorry, MacGregor, we couldn't make a trade. The young lady is mighty fond of lilacs." "Is she, now?" says Shinn, still scowlin' at us. "And she thinks your place here is pretty cute," I adds. "It's a rotten hole," says he. "Maybe you're a poor judge," says I. "If it was fixed up a bit I should think it might be quite spiffy." "What call has an old bachelor to be fixing things up?" he demands. "What do I care how the place looks? And what business is it of yours, anyway?"