of Parsons. In reply to Harold's query, he described the musical picture-salesman as "a queer bird, poor as a church mouse, with no friends."
Dinsmore Road was only five minuses from Stover's. Grace Beach greeted the trio effusively at the door. Two other Sophomores had already arrived. The party, to Harold's mind, was a frost from the start. Mr. and Mrs. Beach remained in the living room for the first half hour or so. The angular Mr. Beach hovered over his radio and produced weird noises from it. Mrs. Beach rocked and knitted and monopolized the conversation, to the annoyance of the two younger women. How different from his own mother this fat, raspy-voiced old lady was, Harold thought.
With a great display of mechanical ingenuity Papa Beach wound the clock on the mantelpiece at ten o'clock and the two older people retired from the scene. The two girls and the students then clustered around the piano and Grace played Tate songs with a heavy touch. The rest attempted to sing, and did so very badly.
Another half hour dragged by. Sheldon turned the radio onto a jazz band number from a New York roof garden. Dan took Grace as his partner. Pudgy little Garrity placed his fat arm around Delphine. The
