He soon had his floating in the sky, but mine, solicitously guided by the finger of Destiny tried to argue the right of way with an electric light wire and before I could extricate it, it was badly damaged. Repairs necessitated both paper and paste, so while Gerald remained, I returned with the intention of getting these essentials from his mother. When I ascended the front steps, and rang the bell, there was no response. As I waited, I suddenly remembered that she had, presumably, gone to town. In a tentative way, I tried the door and found somewhat to my surprise that it was unlocked. Knowing exactly where to find the things I desired, I opened the door and walked in. From the parlor a hall led to the kitchen and in this direction I turned my steps. I was exactly half way through this long hall, when the door to the bath room, just ahead of me, swung open and Gerald' s mother stepped out into the hall, fresh from the tub and stripped stark naked except for her hose and slippers.

It would have been difficult to say which of us was the most astounded. We both froze in our tracks gazing at each other, wordless with surprise. I opened my mouth to make some explanation, but a correct formula of apology to offer a lady under such circumstances was beyond me and I closed it again without having uttered a word. There seemed to be a haze in the air which partially obscured my sight and through it I perceived a black triangle which gradually resolved into a glossy silky profusion of tight little ringlets of hair, sharply outlined against a background of snowy whiteness. as this became fixed on my consciousness, something down the front of my trousers began to hoist itself upward. A low, strained voice broke the spell:

" Where' s Gerald?"

" He' s down at Wellington Square with his kite."

The expansion in the front of my trousers had reached its maximum, causing a then shaped projection outward.