We let on it was a risky stunt, slippin" out a side terrace door, dodgin" past the garage, and finally strikin" a driveway different from the one we"d come in by. We follows along until we fetches up by some big stone gateposts.

"There they are!" exclaims Vee. "Loads of them. And aren"t they fragrant? Smell, Torchy."

"I am," says I, sniffin" deep. "Don"t you hear me?"

"Yes; and that Mr. Shinn will too, if you"re as noisy as that over it,"

says she. "I suppose that is where he lives. Isn"t it the cutest little cottage?"

"It needs paint here and there," says I.

"I know," says Vee. "But look at that old Dutch roof with the wide eaves, and the recessed doorway, and the trellises on either side, and that big clump of purple lilacs nestling against the gable end. Oh, and there"s a cunning little pond in the rear, just where it ought to be! I do wish we might go in and walk around a bit."

"Why not?" says I. "What would it hurt?"

"But that Shinn person," protests Vee, "might--might not----"

"Well, he couldn"t any more"n shoo us off," says I, "and if he"s nutty enough to do that after a good look at you, then he"s hopeless."

"You absurd boy!" says Vee, squeezin" my hand. "Well, anyway, we might venture in a step or two."

As a matter of fact, there don"t seem to be anyone in sight. You might almost think n.o.body lived there; for the new gra.s.s ain"t been cut, the flower beds are full of dry weeds left over from last fall, and most of the green shutters are closed.

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 Vand.y.k.e 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 trespa.s.sin", 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?"

"Say, you"re a consistent grouch, ain"t you?" says I, givin" him the grin. "What"s the particular trouble--was you toppin" your drive to-day?"

"Slicin", mon," says he. "Hardly a tee shot found the fairway the whole round. And then you two come breaking me bushes."

"My error," says I. "But you should have hung out a sign that you was inside chewin" nails."

"I was doing nothing of the kind," says he. "I was waiting for that grinning idiot, Len Hung, to give me me tea."

"Well, don"t choke over it when you do get it," says I. "And if you ain"t ready to sic the police on us we"ll be trotting along back."

"Ye wull not," says MacGregor; "ye"ll have tea with me."

It sounds like a threat, and I can see Vee gettin" ready to object strenuous. So I gives her the nudge.

I expect it"s because I"m so used to Old Hickory"s blowin" out a fuse that I don"t duck quicker when a gas-bomb disposition begins to sputter around. They don"t mean half of it, these furious fizzers.

Sometimes it"s sciatica, more often a punk digestion, and seldom pure cussedness. If you don"t humor "em by comin" back messy yourself, but just jolly "em along, they"re apt to work out of it. And I"d seen sort of a human flicker in them blue-gray eyes of MacGregor Shinn"s.

"Vee," says I, "our peevish friend is invitin" us to take tea with him.

Shall we chance it?"

And you know what a good sport Vee is. She lets the curve come into her mouth corners again, both of her cheek dimples show, and she shoots a quizzin" smile at Mr. Shinn.

"Does he say it real polite?" she asks.

"Na," says MacGregor. "But there"ll be hot scones and marmalade."

"M-m-m-m!" says Vee. "Let"s, Torchy."

It"s an odd finish to an affair that started so sc.r.a.ppy. Not that Shinn reverses himself entirely, or turns from a whiskered golf grump into a stage fairy in spangled skirts. He goes right on with his growlin" and grumblin"--about the way his c.h.i.n.k cook serves the tea, about havin" to live in a rotten hole like Harbor Hills, about everything in general.