I. The Accident

Wallace was very proud of the new suit of clothes his father had just bought him. He wanted to wear it to school the first day after it came home.

“If I were you I should keep it for best for a while, Wallace,” said his mother. “Your old suit is good enough for school for some time.”

“But Tom Dolittle is going to wear his new suit to-day; he told me so.”

“It doesn’t seem wise to me, Wallace—but wear it if you think best.”

“All right, mother,” said Wallace as he skipped away to put it on.

A few minutes later his mother stood watching a very happy boy running down the street.

“Mother!” called Wallace, walking slowly upstairs when he came in from school.

“Here I am, boy, in the sitting room,” answered his mother.

[128]

“Just see what has happened to my new suit!”

“Have you torn your jacket?”

“No, it’s not torn,” he said, coming into the room. “It is worse than that. I’m afraid it is ruined. Look! Look!”

“Why, child,” exclaimed Mrs. Duwell, “how did this happen? Let us go into the bathroom to wipe off a little of the mud. That may prevent stains.”

She hardly knew the mud-splashed boy who stood before her, so very unlike the spick and span Wallace of the morning.

“Well, dear, don’t worry too much,” she said. “We will see what the tailor can do for us.”

“Do you suppose he can make it clean enough for me to wear?” asked the boy eagerly.

“I think that he can make it look very well,” said his mother. “Put on your other suit and we will take this one around to the tailor’s shop. But you haven’t told me what happened.”

“Why, it was this way: I was chasing some of the boys, and just as I reached the corner an automobile came speeding out of West Street. It skidded into the curb, and splashed the mud over me from head to foot. The whole thing happened in less than a minute. You ought to have heard the boys laugh!”

[129]

“I am thankful you were not hurt,” said his mother. “I will put on my wraps and we will go at once.”
II. At the Tailor Shop

“Good afternoon,” said Mrs. Duwell to the tailor as they entered the shop.

“Good afternoon,” said the tailor. “What can I do for you to-day?”

“We want to see if you can make this suit of clothes look like new,” said Mrs. Duwell.

“Let me look at it,” said the man, untying the parcel, and examining the mud-splashed clothing.

“Well, that is pretty bad, but I guess we can do a good job.”

“How much will you charge?” asked Wallace anxiously.

“Seventy-five cents, if you call for it,” said the tailor, taking out a ta............