His improvement carried over the night: he slept well and awoke late, declaring that he was "pretty near a well man and ready for business right now." Moreover, having slept again in the afternoon, he dressed and went down to dinner, leaning but lightly on Alice, who conducted him.
"My! but you and your mother have been at it with your scrubbing and dusting!" he said, as they came through the "living-room." "I don't know I ever did see the house so spick and span before!" His glance fell upon a few carnations in a vase, and he chuckled admiringly.

"Flowers, too! So THAT'S what you coaxed that dollar and a half out o 'me for, this morning!" Other embellishments brought forth his comment when he had taken his old seat at the head of the small dinner-table.

"Why, I declare, Alice!" he exclaimed.

"I been so busy looking at all the spick-and-spanishness after the house-cleaning, and the flowers out in the parlour--'living room' I suppose you want me to call it, if I just GOT to be fashionable--I been so busy studying over all this so-and-so, I declare I never noticed YOU till this minute! My, but you ARE all dressed up! What's goin' on?
What's it about: you so all dressed up, and flowers in the parlour and everything ?" "Don't you see, papa?
It's in honour of your coming downstairs again, of course." "Oh, so that's it," he said.

"I never would 'a' thought of that, I guess." But Walter looked sidelong at his father, and gave forth his sly and knowing laugh.