bright-colored gloves. It was not a very cold day but he had so
many clothes on he looked like a pillow inside a roll of
blankets. I asked him if he would please tell me the time.
He stopped, grunted and glared down at me--his red face growing
redder still; and when he spoke it sounded like the cork coming
out of a gingerbeer-bottle.
"Do you imagine for one moment," he spluttered, "that I am going
to get myself all unbuttoned just to tell a little boy like you
THE TIME!" And he went stumping down the street, grunting harder
than ever.
I stood still a moment looking after him and wondering how old I
would have to be, to have him go to the trouble of getting his
watch out. And then, all of a sudden, the rain came down in
torrents.
I have never seen it rain so hard. It got dark, almost like
night. The wind began to blow; the thunder rolled; the lightning
flashed, and in a moment the gutters of the road were flowing
like a river. There was no place handy to take shelter, so I put
my head down against the driving wind and started to run towards
home.
I hadn't gone very far when my head bumped into something soft
and I sat down suddenly on the pavement. I looked up to see whom
I had run into. And there in front of me, sitting on the wet
pavement like myself, was a little round man with a very kind
face. He wore a shabby high hat and in his hand he had a small
black bag.
"I'm very sorry," I said. "I had my head down and I didn't see
you coming."
To my great surprise, instead of getting angry at being knocked
down, the little man began to laugh.
"You know this reminds me," he said, "of a time once when I was
in India. I ran full tilt into a woman in a thunderstorm. But
she was carrying a pitcher of molasses on her head and I had
treacle in my hair for weeks afterwards--the flies followed me
everywhere. I didn't hurt you, did 1?"
"No," I said. "I'm all right."
"It was just as much my fault as it was yours, you know," said
the little man. "I had my head down too--but look here, we
mustn't sit talking like this. You must be soaked. I know I am.
How far have you got to go?"
