seconds to see that he had one of his re-arranging streaks on. He was pulling things down from the shelves and sputtering about the dust, and as soon as I hove in sight, he said that I was just in time, because he had decided to take down the big Japanese umbrella that hung from the ceiling, and told me to go and get the step-ladder.
I brought it, but I tell you it was something of a trick to carry such a long step-ladder between a hundred and twenty feet of glass show-cases! I set it up under the umbrella and Dad went up.
Now the umbrella was fastened to a hook in the ceiling, and the ceiling is about seventeen feet high,—and Dad is only five-feet-six. The step-ladder was a mighty tall one, though, and Dad went up all right until he was about three steps from the top, and could get hold of the handle of the umbrella. He thought that all he had to do was totake it by the handle and lift it off of the hook, but it wouldn't lift off.
"Shut it down," I said, "and then you can see what's the matter."
He went up another step, holding on to the umbrella to steady himself, and managed to press the spring, and then went down a step until he
