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along. His mother told him beforehand. He smashed it up New Year s Eve.
    You never told me that, said Irma. You never asked me, as the snake charmer said to her husband. By the way, did Mrs. Lynch say she d mind the kids tonight?
    Uh-huh.
    Well, then I better phone Willard and tell him we ll go along. I ll get that Studebaker sedan. We can get six in it comfortably. It s a seven-passenger job, but we can sit three in the front and three in the back and we won t have to use the extra seats. How many are going?
    I think twelve. Ten or twelve. It depends. If Emily s father and mother come down from Shamokin she and Harvey won t be able to come along, but it won t make any difference. They were going in Walter s car, so if they don t go, that makes two less in that car.
    I better call the garage and make sure about the Studebaker. He went to the telephone. Hello, this is Lute Fliegler. Merry Christmas. Listen, that Studebaker sedan, the black one. The one we took on a trade-in from Doc Lurie. Yeah. Doc Lurie s old car. Well, listen. Don t let anybody take it out, see? I asked the boss if I could use it tonight and he said okay, see? So I just wanted to make sure none of you thieves took it out. If you want to go any place you can use my Rolls. Seriously, Joe, you want to do me a favor, you can put the chains on the Studie. Okay? Swell. He hung up, and addressed Irma. Well, that s settled.
    You can call Willard later, she said. I told him we d call if we couldn t go, so he ll take it for granted we re going.
    What about liquor? said Lute. Well, it s Willard s party. I should think he d supply the liquor.
    Oh, yeah? Do you know how much liquor costs at the Stage Coach? Seventy-five cents a drink, baby, and they won t sell it to everybody. I don t think Willard intends to supply the liquor, not at six bits a shot. I think I better make some gin and take a quart along, just in case. It wouldn t be right to expect Willard to buy all the liquor and everything else for a party of twelve people.
    Maybe there ll only be ten.
    All right. What if there is only ten? They have a cover charge of a dollar and a half or two dollars, and there goes twenty bucks already, not including ginger ale and White Rock, and sandwiches! You know what they charge for a plain ordinary chicken sandwich at the Stage Coach? A buck. If Willard gets away under forty bucks he s lucky, without buying a single drink. No, I better make some gin. Or on second thought, there s that quart of rye the boss gave me. I was going to save it, but we might as well use it tonight.
    Oh, the gin s good enough. You make good gin. Everybody says so.
    I know I do, but gin s gin. I think I ll turn square for once in my life and take the rye. Maybe the others will bring their own, so we won t have to get rid of the whole quart.
    I don t want you to drink much if you re going to drive, said Irma. Don t worry. Not over those roads. I know. I ll put the quart into pint bottles and keep one pint in my overcoat pocket when we get to the Stage Coach. Then the others will think I only have a pint and they ll go easy. But I imagine everybody will bring their own, if they have any sense.
    I imagine, she said. I m going upstairs now and make the beds. I ll see if the pants of your Tux need pressing.
    Oh, God. That s right. Do I have to wear that?
    Now, now, don t try and bluff me. You look nice in it and you know it. You like to wear it and don t pretend you don t.
    Oh, I don t mind wearing it, he said. I was just thinking about you. You ll be so jealous when all the other girls see me in my Tux and start trying to take me outside. I just didn t want to spoil your evening, that s all.
    Applesauce, said Irma. Why don t you say what you mean? You don t mean applesauce.
    Never mind, now, Mister Dirty Mouth. She left. What a girl, he thought, and resumed reading his paper; Hoover was receiving the newsboys for Christmas. & III It was about two o clock, U. S. Naval Observatory Hourly By Western Union