But Miss Cotton had a fine eye to the structure of a story. "Oh, I'm comin' to him, at the right time. Well, as I was sayin', there was a whole swarm o' these fellows came floppin' an' flounderin' onto the platform an' they all squat down in a long row with their wrappers an' shingles on, an' started to play like all possessed on what they call bangjoes or some such tomfoolery." "Banjoes," corrected Sarah. "Lots of the boys and girls play them at the High School." The orator paid no attention. "An' they set there fiddle-dee-deein' for about a quarter of an hour,--an' now I'm comin' to the important part. There was one tall, good-lookin' chap, sittin' right in the middle o' the row----" "Mr. Egerton," whispered Maggie. "An' he was scratchin' away for dear life on some sort of a fryin'-pan thing, an' I leans over to James an' I sez, 'James,' sez I, 'ain't it for all the world like gratin' nutmegs?' sez I. Well, we were bang-up in the very front seat, for James Turner always believes in gettin' all he pays for, an' the fellows was makin' the awfullest clatter, an' you know, James Turner's as deaf as a post, anyhow, an'--well, now, if any o' you scalawags lets this out I'll massacree the whole lot o' you!" A chorus of renewed promises and entreaties to continue followed this terrible threat. "Well, jist as I was sayin' it, good and loud, what should that blessed racket do but stop short, jist as if they'd all been shot dead; an' jist at that very min'it I was yellin' 'gratin' nutmegs!' at the top o' my lungs!" She joined heartily in the shrieks of laughter, for Miss Cotton loved a joke on herself, as well as on another. "O' course, they all went at it again, with a bang," she continued, "but them fellas heard, o' course, an' they started to shake. An' this tall chap in the middle, I'm tellin' you about, was the worst of all. I thought he'd a' took a conniption fit an' when he did manage to sober up a bit, he stared down at me that hard, that if I'd been a skit o' a thing like one o' you girls, I'd a' blushed, sure. But I jist stared back at him, good and hard, I tell you, till he had to look away.