William arose with dignity.

“All right,” he said.  “Go’-bye.”

He strolled away down the street.

“Softie!”

It was a malicious sweet little voice.

“Swank!”

William flushed but forbore to turn round.

That evening he met the little girl from next door in the road outside her house.

“Hello, Joan!”

“Hello, William!”

In these blue eyes there was no malice or mockery.  To Joan William was a god-like hero.  His very wickedness partook of the divine.

“Would you—­would you like to come an’ make a snow man in our garden, William?” she said tentatively.

William knit his brows.

“I dunno,” he said ungraciously.  “I was jus’ kinder thinkin’.”

She looked at him silently, hoping that he would deign to tell her his thoughts, but not daring to ask.  Joan held no modern views on the subject of the equality of the sexes.

“Do you remember that ole tale ’bout Father Christmas, Joan?” he said at last.

She nodded.

“Well, s’pose you wanted somethin’ very bad, an’ you believed that ole tale and sent a bit of paper up the chimney ’bout what you wanted very bad and then you never got it, you’d feel kind of rotten, wouldn’t you?”

She nodded again.

“I did one time,” she said.  “I sent a lovely list up the chimney and I never told anyone about it and I got lots of things for Christmas and not one of the things I’d written for!”

“Did you feel awful rotten?”

“Yes, I did.  Awful.”

“I say, Joan,” importantly, “I’ve gotter secret.”

“Do tell me, William!” she pleaded.

“Can’t.  It’s a crorse-me-throat secret!”

She was mystified and impressed.

“How lovely, William!  Is it something you’re going to do?”

He considered.

“It might be,” he said.

“I’d love to help.”  She fixed adoring blue eyes upon him.

“Well, I’ll see,” said the lord of creation.  “I say, Joan, you comin’ to my party?”

“Oh, yes!”

“Well, there’s an awful lot comin’.  Johnny Brent an’ all that lot.  I’m jolly well not lookin’ forward to it, I can tell you.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!  Why did you ask them, William?”

William laughed bitterly.

“Why did I invite them?” he said. “I don’t invite people to my parties. They do that.”

In William’s vocabulary “they” always signified his immediate family circle.