“I’m darned if I know what to do with you.  Well, you’d better come home with me now, anyway, and meet your aunt, and then we can talk things over.  After all, the main thing is to keep you out of mischief.”

“You put things crudely, but no doubt you are right.”

“You’ll live with us, of course.”

“Thank you very much.  This is the right spirit.”

“I’ll have to talk to Nesta about you.  There may be something you can do.”

“I shouldn’t mind being a partner,” suggested Jimmy helpfully.

“Why don’t you get work on a paper again?  You used to do that well.”

“I don’t think my old paper would welcome me now.  They regard me rather as an entertaining news-item than a worker.”

“That’s true.  Say, why on earth did you make such a fool of yourself over on the other side?  That breach-of-promise case with the barmaid!” said Mr. Pett reproachfully.

“Let bygones be bygones,” said Jimmy.  “I was more sinned against than sinning.  You know how it is, uncle Pete!” Mr. Pett started violently, but said nothing.  “You try out of pure goodness of heart to scatter light and sweetness and protect the poor working-girl—­like Heaven—­and brighten up her lot and so on, and she turns right around and soaks it to you good!  And anyway she wasn’t a barmaid.  She worked in a florist’s shop.”

“I don’t see that that makes any difference.”

“All the difference in the world, all the difference between the sordid and the poetical.  I don’t know if you have ever experienced the hypnotic intoxication of a florist’s shop?  Take it from me, uncle Pete, any girl can look an angel as long as she is surrounded by choice blooms.  I couldn’t help myself.  I wasn’t responsible.  I only woke up when I met her outside.  But all that sort of thing is different now.  I am another man.  Sober, steady, serious-minded!”

Mr. Pett had taken the receiver from the telephone and was talking to some one.  The buzzing of a feminine voice came to Jimmy’s ears.  Mr. Pett hung up the receiver.

“Your aunt says we are to come up at once.”

“I’m ready.  And it will be a good excuse for you to knock off work.  I bet you’re glad I came!  Does the carriage await or shall we take the subway?”

“I guess it will be quicker to take the subway.  Your aunt’s very surprised that you are here, and very pleased.”

“I’m making everybody happy to-day.”

Mr. Pett was looking at him in a meditative way.  Jimmy caught his eye.

“You’re registering something, uncle Pete, and I don’t know what it is.  Why the glance?”

“I was just thinking of something.”

“Jimmy,” prompted his nephew.

“Eh?”

“Add the word Jimmy to your remarks.  It will help me to feel at home and enable me to overcome my shyness.”

Mr. Pett chuckled.

“Shyness!  If I had your nerve—!” He broke off with a sigh and looked at Jimmy affectionately.  “What I was thinking was that you’re a good boy.  At least, you’re not, but you’re different from that gang of—­of—­that crowd up-town.”