The mourners saw her suddenly stand as if petrified, the gesture frozen in mid air, the word on her lips chopped off in the middle as with a knife.  Following her startled glance the others also saw Dr. Grayson and the visitor.  An indescribable sound rose from the funeral train; the transition noise of anguished wailing turning into uncontrollable laughter; then such a shout went up that the birds dozing in the trees overhead flew out in startled circles and went darting away with loud squawks of alarm.

“Go on, go on,” urged Dr. Grayson, with twinkling eyes, “don’t let me interrupt the flow of eloquence.”

But Katherine, abashed and tongue-tied in his presence always, could not utter another word, and, blushing furiously, slid down off the rock and took refuge behind the daisy-covered bier.  The procession, agitated by great waves of laughter, moved on toward the woods, where the mouse was duly interred with solemn ceremonies.

“Will your father think I’m dreadfully silly?” Katherine inquired anxiously of Miss Judy later in the afternoon.

“Not a bit,” replied Miss Judy emphatically.  “He thought that mouse funeral was the best impromptu stunt we’ve pulled off yet.  That kind of thing was just what camp needed today.  The novelty of it got everybody stirred up and made them hilarious.  That funeral oration of yours was the funniest thing I ever heard.  Miss Amesbury thought so too.  She took it all down while you were delivering it.”

“Daggers and dirks!” exclaimed Katherine, more abashed than ever.

“That made the first coup for the Alley,” continued Miss Judy, exulting.  “The Avenue is green with envy.  They’ll rack their brains now to get up something as clever.”

“Jane Pratt didn’t think it was clever,” replied Katherine, trying not to look proud at Miss Judy’s compliment.  “She said it was the silliest thing she had ever seen.”

“Oh,—­Jane Pratt!” sniffed Miss Judy, with an expressive shrug of her shoulders.  “Jane Pratt would have something sarcastic to say about an archangel.  Don’t you mind what Jane Pratt says.”

From Avernus to Gitchee-Gummee the Alley rang with praises of Katharine’s cleverness.

“What’s the excitement?” asked Agony wonderingly as she returned to the bungalow in time for supper after resting quietly by herself all day.

“The best thing the Alley ever did!” replied Bengal Virden enthusiastically, and recounted the details for Agony’s benefit.

At the same moment someone started a cheer for Katherine down at the other end of the table, and the response was actually deafening: 

  You’re the B-E-S-T, best,
  Of all the R-E-S-T, rest,
  O, I love you, I love you all the T-I-M-E, time! 
  If you’ll be M-I-N-E, mine,
  I’ll be T-H-I-N-E, thine,
  O, I love you, I love you all the T-I-M-E, time!

Agony cheered with the others, but a little stab of envy went through her breast, a longing to have a cheer thundered at her by the assembled campers, to become prominent, and looked at, and sought after.  Sewah had “arrived,” and now also Katherine, while she herself was still merely “among those present.”