Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-04-29

must begin to take our places on the
stage. Is everybody here?"
Penrod made his escape under cover
of this diversion; he slid behind Mrs.
Lora Rewbush and, being near door.
opened it unnoticed and went out
quickly, closing it behind him. He
found himself in a narrow and vacant
hallway which led to door marked
"Janitor's Room"
Burning with outrage. heart-sick at
the sweet. cold-blooded laughter Of
Marjorie Jones. Penrod rested his ell
bows upon a window-sill and speculat-
ed upon the effects of a leap from
the second story. One of the reasons
Maurice Levy's account; already he
was forming education plans for the
Child Sir Galahad.
A stout man is blue overalls passed
self petulantly. Il reckon they'll ind
that hall hot enough noww he said.
conveying to Penrod an impression that
some too feminine women had sent him
upon an unreasonable errand to the
furnace. He went into the janitors
room and. emerging a moment later.
minus the overalls. made a gloomy exit
by the door at the upper end of the
hallway.
The conglomerate and delicate rustic
of large. well-bred audience was
heard as the janitor opened and closed
the door; and sudden stage fright seized
the boy. The orchestra began an over
ture and at that Penrod, trembling
the Janitor's room. 1t was a Guide
sac: there was no outlet save by the
way he had come.
Despairingly he dotted his mantle and
looked down upon himself for last
sickenlng assurance that the stockings
were as obviously and disgracefully
Margarets as they had seemed in the
mirror at home. For a moment he was
encouraged; perhaps he was no worse
than some of the other boys Then he
noticed that a safety pin had opened
IL was one of those connecting the
stockings with his trunks. He sat down
70 Iasten IT and his eyes fell for the
first time with particular attention upon
the trunks. Until this instant he had
been preoccupied with the stockings
Slowly recognition dawned in his
eyes.
The schofields' house stood on a cor
ner at the intersection of two main
travelled streets; the fence was low, and
the publicity obtained by the washable
portion OF the family apparel, on Mon
days. had often been painful to PEN
ness in these matters A plain. matter
of-fact washerwoman, employed by Mrs.
Schoheld. never left anything to the
imagination of the passer-by: and of
an her calm display the scarlet flaunt-
ing Of his fathers winter wear had
most abashed Penrod. The whole town,
he was convinced, knew these garments
intimately and derisively
And now, as he sat in the Janitors
chair. the horrible and paralying recog-
milton came. He had not an tnstant's
doubt that every fellow actor, as we'll
as every soul in the audience, would
recognize what his mother and sister
had put upon him. For as the awful
truth became plain to himself it SEEM
ed blazoned to the world; and far, far
louder than the stockings, the trunks
did fairly below the grisly secret:
whose they were and what they were!
Most people have suffered in q dream
the experience of finding themselves
very inadequately clad in the midst of
a crowd of well dressed people; and
such dreamers sensations are compare
BILE to Penrods. though family, because
Penrod was awake and in much too
full possession of the most active ca
pacities for anguish.
Gazing upon the CHASTITY trunks, the
stricken Penrod felt that he was a de-
gree worse than nude; and a great
horror of himself filled his soul
.Penrod Schofield!"
The door into the hallway opened.
and voice demanded him. He could
not be seen from the hallway, but the
hue and the cry was up; and he knew