CHAPTERI
BILLYWRITESALETTER
BillyNeilsonwaseighteenyearsoldwhentheaunt，whohadbroughtherupfrombabyhood，died.MissBenton’sdeathleftBillyquitealoneintheworld——alone，andpeculiarlyforlorn.ToMr.JamesHarding，ofHarding&Harding，whohadchargeofBilly’snotinconsiderableproperty，thegirlpouredoutherheartinallitslonelinesstwodaysafterthefuneral.
"Yousee，Mr.Harding，thereisn’tanyone——notanyonewho——
cares，"shechoked.
"Tut，tut，mychild，it’snotsobadasthat，surely，"remonstratedtheoldman，gently."Why，I——Icare."
Billysmiledthroughtear—weteyes.
"ButIcan’tLIVEwithyou，"shesaid.
"I’mnotsosureofthat，either，"retortedtheman."I’mthinkingthatLettyandAnnwouldLIKEtohaveyouwithus."
Thegirllaughednowoutright.ShewasthinkingofMissLetty，whohad"nerves，"andofMissAnn，whohada"heart";andshepicturedherownyoung，breezy，healthyselfattemptingtoconformtothehushedandshadedthingthatlifewas，withinLawyerHarding’shome.
"Thankyou，butI’msuretheywouldn’t，"sheobjected."Youdon’tknowhownoisyIam."
Thelawyerstirredrestlesslyandpondered.
"But，surely，mydear，isn’ttheresomerelative，somewhere？"hedemanded."Howaboutyourmother’speople？"
Billyshookherhead.Hereyesfilledagainwithtears.
TherewasonlyAuntElla，ever，thatIknewanythingabout.Sheandmotherweretheonlychildrentherewere，andmotherdiedwhenIwasayearold，youknow."
"Butyourfather’speople？"
"It’sevenworsethere.Hewasanonlychildandanorphanwhenmothermarriedhim.HediedwhenIwasbutsixmonthsold.AfterthattherewasonlymotherandAuntElla，thenAuntEllaalone;andnow——noone."
"Andyouknownothingofyourfather’speople？"
"Nothing;thatis——almostnothing."
"Thenthereissomeone？"
Billysmiled.Adeeperpinkshowedinhercheeks.
"Why，there’sone——amanbutheisn’treallyfather’speople，anyway.ButI——Ihavebeentemptedtowritetohim."
"Whoishe？"
"TheoneI’mnamedfor.Hewasfather’sboyhoodchum.Youseethat’swhyI’m’Billy’insteadofbeingaproper’Susie，’or’Bessie，’or’SallyJane.’Fatherhadmadeuphismindtonamehisbaby’William’afterhischum，andwhenIcame，AuntEllasaid，hewasquitebroken—hearteduntilsomebodyhitupontheideaofnamingmeBilly.’Thenhewascontent，foritseemsthathealwayscalledhischum’Billy’anyhow.Andso——’Billy’Iamto—day."
"Doyouknowthisman？"
"No.Youseefatherdied，andmotherandAuntEllaknewhimonlyveryslightly.Motherknewhiswife，though，AuntEllasaid，andSHEwaslovely."
"Hm——;well，wemightlookthemup，perhaps.Youknowhisaddress？"
"Oh，yesunlesshe’smoved.We’vealwayskeptthat.AuntEllausedtosaysometimesthatshewasgoingtowritetohimsomedayaboutme，youknow."
"What’shisname？"
"WilliamHenshaw.HelivesinBoston."
LawyerHardingsnatchedoffhisglasses，andleanedforwardinhischair.
"WilliamHenshaw！NottheBeaconStreetHenshaws！"hecried.
ItwasBilly’sturntobeexcited.She，too，leanedforwardeagerly.
"Oh，doyouknowhim？That’slovely！AndhisaddressISBeaconStreet！IknowbecauseIsawitonlyto—day.Yousee，IHAVEbeentemptedtowritehim."
"Writehim？Ofcourseyou’llwritehim，"criedthelawyer."Andwedon’tneedtodomuch’lookingup’there，child.I’veknownthefamilyforyears，andthisWilliamwasacollegemateofmyboy’s.
Nicefellow，too.I’veheardNedspeakofhim.Therewerethreesons，William，andtwoothersmuchyoungerthanhe.I’veforgottentheirnames."
"Thenyoudoknowhim！I’msoglad，"exclaimedBilly."Yousee，heneverseemedtomequitereal."
"Iknowabouthim，"correctedthelawyer，smilingly，"thoughI’llconfessI’veratherlosttrackofhimlately.Nedwillknow.I’llaskNed.Nowgohome，mydear，anddrythoseprettyeyesofyours.
Or，betterstill，comehomewithmetotea.I——I’lltelephoneuptothehouse."Andherosestifflyandwentintotheinneroffice.
Someminutespassedbeforehecameback，redofface，andplainlydistressed.
"Mydearchild，I——I’msorry，but——butI’llhavetotakebackthatinvitation，"heblurtedoutmiserably."Mysistersare——arenotwellthisafternoon.Annhasbeenhavingaturnwithherheart——
youknowAnn’sheartis——isbad;andLetty——Lettyisalwaysnervousatsuchtimes——verynervous.Er——I’msosorry！Butyou’ll——excuseit？"
"IndeedIwill，"smiledBilly，"andthankyoujustthesame;only"——
hereyestwinkledmischievously——"youdon’tmindifIdosaythatitISluckythatwehadn’tgoneonplanningtohavemelivewiththem，Mr.Harding！"
"Eh？Well——er，IthinkyourplanabouttheHenshawsisverygood，"
heinterposedhurriedly."I’llspeaktoNed——I’llspeaktoNed，"
hefinished，asheceremoniouslybowedthegirlfromtheoffice.
JamesHardingkepthisword，andspoketohissonthatnight;buttherewaslittle，afterall，thatNedcouldtellhim.Yes，herememberedBillyHenshawwell，buthehadnotheardofhimforyears，sinceHenshaw’smarriage，infact.Hemustbefortyyearsold，Nedsaid;buthewasafinefellow，anexceptionallyfinefellow，andwouldbesuretodealkindlyandwiselybyhislittleorphannamesake;ofthatNedwasverysure.
"That’sgood.I’llwritehim，"declaredMr.JamesHarding."I’llwritehimtomorrow."
Hedidwrite——butnotsosoonasBillywrote;forevenashespoke，Billy，inherlonelylittleroomattheotherendofthetown，waslayingbareallherhomesicknessinfourlongpagesto"DearUncleWilliam."
CHAPTERII
"THESTRATA"
BertramHenshawcalledtheBeaconStreethome"TheStrata."ThisannoyedCyril，andevenWilliam，notalittle;thoughtheyreflectedthat，afterall，itwas"onlyBertram."ForthewholeofBertram’stwenty—fouryearsoflifeithadbeenlikethis——"It’sonlyBertram，"hadbeenatoncethecurseandthesalvationofhisexistence.
Inthisparticularcase，however，Bertram’svagaryoffancyhadsomeexcuse.TheBeaconStreethouse，thehomeofthethreebrothers，wasa"Strata."
"Yousee，it’slikethis，"Bertramwouldexplainairilytosomenewacquaintancewhoexpressedsurpriseatthename;"ifIcouldsliceoffthefrontofthehouselikealoafofcake，you’dunderstanditbetter.ButjustsupposethatoldBunkerHillshouldsuddenlyspoutfireandbrimstoneandburyusundertonsofashes——onlyfancytheconditionofmindofthosefuturearchaeologistswhentheystruckourhouseaftertheirmonthsofdigging！
"Whatwouldtheyfind？Listen.First：stratumnumberone，thetopfloor;that’sCyril’s，youknow.They’dnotethebarefloors，thesparsebutheavyfurniture，thepiano，theviolin，theflute，thebook—linedwalls，andtheabsenceofeverysortofcurtain，cushion，orknickknack.’Herelivedaplainman，’they’dsay;’ascholar，amusician，stern，unlovedandunloving;amonk.’
"Andwhatnext？They’dstrikeWilliam’sstratumnext，thethirdfloor.Imagineit！YouknowWilliamasaStateStreetbroker，well—off，awidower，tall，angular，slowofspeech，alittlebald，verymuchnearsighted，andtheownerofthekindestheartintheworld.ButreallytoknowWilliam，youmustknowhisrooms.
Williamcollectsthings.Hehasalwayscollectedthings——andhe’ssavedeveryoneofthem.There’satraditionthatattheageofoneyearhecreptintothehousewithfoursmallroundwhitestones.Anyhow，ifhedid，he’sgotthemnow.Restassuredofthat——andhe’sfortythisyear.Miniatures，carvedivories，bugs，moths，porcelains，jades，stamps，postcards，spoons，baggagetags，theatreprograms，playing—cards——thereisn’tanythingthathedoesn’tcollect.He’sonteapots，now.Imagineit——Williamandteapots！Andthey’reallthereinhisrooms——onegloriousmassofconfusion.Justfancythosearchaeologiststryingtomaketheir’monk’livethere！
"Butwhentheyreachme，mystratum，they’llhaveaworsetimeyet.
Yousee，_I_likecushionsandcomfort，andIhavethemeverywhere.
AndIlike——well，Ilikelotsofthings.Myroomsdon’tbelongtothatmonk，notalittlebit.Andsoyousee，"Bertramwouldfinishmerrily，"that’swhyIcallitall’TheStrata.’"
And"TheStrata"itwastoalltheHenshaws’friends，andeventoWilliamandCyrilthemselves，inspiteoftheirobjectiontotheterm.
FrombabyhoodtheHenshawboyshadlivedinthehandsome，roomyhouse，facingthePublicGarden.Ithadbeentheirfather’sboyhoodhome，aswell，andheandhiswifehaddiedthere，soonafterKate，theonlydaughter，hadmarried.Attheageoftwenty—
two，WilliamHenshaw，theeldestson，hadbroughthisbridetothehouse，andtogethertheyhadstriventomakeahomeforthetwoyoungerorphanboys，Cyril，twelve，andBertram，six.ButMrs.
William，afterashortfiveyearsofmarriedlife，haddied;andsincethen，thehousehadknownalmostnothingofawoman’stouchorcare.
Littlebylittleastheyearspassed，thehouseanditsinmateshadfallenintowhathadgivenBertramhisexcuseforthename.Cyril，thirtyyearsoldnow，dignified，reserved，aversetocats，dogs，women，andconfusion，hadearlytakenhimselfandhismusictothepeaceandexclusivenessofthefourthfloor.Belowhim，Williamhadlongdiscouragedanymeddlingwithhispreciouschaosofpossessions，andhadfinallycometospendnearlyallhissparetimeamongthem.ThisleftBertramtoundisputedownershipofthesecondfloor，andrightroyallydidheholdswaytherewithhispaintsandbrushesandeasels，hisoldarmor，richhangings，rugs，andcushions，andeverywherehisspecialty——his"FaceofaGirl."
Fromcanvas，plaque，andpaneltheylookedout——thosegirlishfaces：winsome，wilful，pert，demure，merry，sad，beautiful，evenalmostugly——theywereallthere;andtheyweregrowingfamous，too.Theworldofartwasbeginningtotakenotice，andtoadjustitsspectaclesforamorecriticalglance.This"FaceofaGirl"
byHenshawbadefairtobeworthwhile.
BelowBertram’scheerysecondfloorwerethedimoldlibraryanddrawing—rooms，silent，stately，andalmostneverused;andbelowthemwerethedining—roomandthekitchen.HereruledDongLing，theChinesecook，andPete.
Petewas——indeed，itishardtellingwhatPetewas.Hesaidhewasthebutler;andhelookedthepartwhenheansweredthebellatthegreatfrontdoor.Butatothertimes，whenhesweptaroom，ordustedMasterWilliam’scurios，helooked——likenothingsomuchaswhathewas：afussy，faithfuloldman，whoexpectedtodieintheservicehehadenteredfiftyyearsbeforeasalad.
ThusinalltheBeaconStreethouse，therehadnotforyearsbeenthetouchofawoman’shand.EvenKate，themarriedsister，hadlongsincegivenuptryingtoinstructDongLingortochidePete，thoughshestillwalkedacrosstheGardenfromherCommonwealthAvenuehomeandtrippedupthestairstocallinturnuponherbrothers，Bertram，William，andCyril.
CHAPTERIII
THESTRATA——WHENTHELETTERCOMES
Itwasonthesixo’clockdeliverythatWilliamHenshawreceivedtheletterfromhisnamesake，Billy.Tosaytheleast，theletterwasagreatshocktohim.HehadnotquiteforgottenBilly’sfather，whohaddiedsolongago，itistrue，buthehadforgottenBilly，entirely.Evenashelookedatthedisconcertingepistlewithitsround，neatlyformedletters，hehadgreatdifficultyinferretingouttheparticularnicheinhismemorywhichcontainedthefactthatWalterNeilsonhadhadachild，andhadnameditforhim.
Andthischild，this"Billy，"thisunknownprogenyofanallbutforgottenboyhoodfriend，wasaskingahome，andwithhim！
Impossible！AndWilliamHenshawpeeredattheletterasif，atthissecondreading，itsmessagecouldnotbesomonstrous.
"Well，oldman，what’sup？"ItwasBertram’samazedvoicefromthehalldoorway;andindeed，WilliamHenshaw，red—facedandplainlytrembling，seatedontheloweststepofthestairway，andgazing，wild—eyed，attheletterinhishand，wassomewhatofanamazingsight."WhatISup？"
"What’sup！"groanedWilliam，startingtohisfeet，andwavingtheletterfranticallyintheair."What’sup！Youngman，doyouwantustotakeinachildtoboard？——aCHILD？"herepeatedinslowhorror.
"Well，hardly，"laughedtheother."Er，perhapsCyrilmightlikeit，though;eh？"
"Come，come，Bertram，besensibleforonce，"pleadedhisbrother，nervously."Thisisserious，reallyserious，Itellyou！"
"Whatisserious？"demandedCyril，comingdownthestairway.
"Can’titwait？Petehasalreadysoundedthegongtwicefordinner."
Williammadeadespairinggesture.
"Well，come，"hegroaned."I’lltellyouatthetableItseemsI’vegotanamesake，"heresumedinashakingvoice，afewmomentslater;"WalterNeilson’schild."
"Andwho’sWalterNeilson？"askedBertram.
"Aboyhoodfriend.Youwouldn’trememberhim.Thisletterisfromhischild."
"Well，let’shearit.Goahead.Ifancywecanstandthe——LETTER;
eh，Cyril？"
Cyrilfrowned.Cyrildidnotknow，perhaps，howoftenhefrownedatBertram.
Theeldestbrotherwethislips.Hishandshookashepickeduptheletter.
"It——it’ssoabsurd，"hemuttered.Thenheclearedhisthroatandreadtheletteraloud.
"DEARUNCLEWILLIAM：Doyoumindmycallingyouthat？YouseeI
wantSOMEone，andthereisn’tanyonenow.YouarethenearestI’vegot.Maybeyou’veforgotten，butI’mnamedforyou.WalterNeilsonwasmyfather，youknow.MyAuntEllahasjustdied.
"WouldyoumindverymuchifIcametolivewithyou？Thatis，betweentimes——I’mgoingtocollege，ofcourse，andafterthatI’mgoingtobe——well，Ihaven’tdecidedthatpartyet.IthinkI’llconsultyou.Youmayhavesomepreference，youknow.YoucanbethinkingitupuntilIcome.
"There！MaybeIoughtnottohavesaidthat，forperhapsyouwon’twantmetocome.IAMnoisy，I’llown，butnotsoIthinkyou’llminditmuchunlesssomeofyouhave’nerves’ora’heart.’Yousee，MissLettyandMissAnn——they’reMr.Harding’ssisters，andMr.Hardingisourlawyer，andhewillwritetoyou.Well，wherewasI？Oh，Iknow——onMissLetty’snerves.And，say，doyouknow，thatiswhereIdoget——onMissLetty’snerves.Ido，truly.Yousee，Mr.HardingverykindlysuggestedthatIlivewiththem，but，mercy！MissLetty’snerveswon’tletyouwalkexceptontiptoe，andMissAnn’sheartwon’tletyouspeakexceptinwhispers.Allthechairsandtableshavewornlittlesocketsinthecarpets，andit’sacrimetomovethem.Thereisn’tawindow—shadeinthehousethatisn’tpulleddownEXACTLYtothemiddlesash，exceptwherethesunshines，andthosearepulledwaydown.ImaginemeandSpunklivingthere！Oh，bytheway，youdon’tmindmybringingSpunk，doyou？Ihopeyoudon’t，forIcouldn’tlivewithoutSpunk，andhecouldn’tlivewithoutme.
"Pleaseletmehearfromyouverysoon.Idon’tmindifyoutelegraph;andjust’come’wouldbeallyou’dhavetosay.ThenI’dgetreadyrightawayandletyouknowwhattraintomeetmeon.
And，oh，say——ifyou’llwearapinkinyourbuttonholeIwill，too.
Thenwe’llknoweachother.Myaddressisjust’HampdenFalls.’
"Yourawfullyhomesicknamesake，"BILLYHENSHAWNEILSON"
ForonelongminutetherewasablanksilenceabouttheHenshawdinner—table;thentheeldestbrother，lookinganxiouslyfromonemantotheother，stammered：
"W—well？"
"GreatScott！"breathedBertram.
Cyrilsaidnothing，buthislipswerewhitewiththeirtensepressureagainsteachother.
Therewasanotherpause，andagainWilliambrokeitanxiously.
"Boys，thisisn’thelpingmeoutany！What’stobedone？"
"’Done’！"flamedCyril."Surely，youaren’tthinkingforamomentofLETTINGthatchildcomehere，William！"
Bertramchuckled.
"HeWOULDliventhingsup，Cyril;wouldn’the？Suchnicesmoothfloorsyou’vegotup—stairstotrundlelittletincartsacross！"
"Tinnonsense！"retortedCyril."Don’tbesilly，Bertram.Thatletterwasn’twrittenbyababy.He’dbemuchmorelikelytomakehimselfathomewithyourpaintbox，orwithsomeofWilliam’sjunk."
"Oh，Isay，"expostulatedWilliam，"we’llHAVEtokeephimoutofthosethings，youknow."
Cyrilpushedbackhischairfromthetable.
"’We’llhavetokeephimout’！William，youcan’tbeinearnest！
Youaren’tgoingtoletthatboycomehere，"hecried.
"ButwhatcanIdo？"falteredtheman.
"Do？Say’no，’ofcourse.Asifwewantedaboytobringup！"
"ButImustdosomething.I——I’mallhe’sgot.Hesaysso."
"Goodheavens！Well，sendhimtoboarding—school，then，ortothepenitentiary;anywherebuthere！"
"Shucks！Letthekidcome，"laughedBertram."Poorlittlehomesickdevil！What’stheuse？I’lltakehimin.Howoldishe，anyhow？"
Williamfrowned，andmusedaloudslowly.
"Why，Idon’tknow.Hemustbe——er——why，boys，he’snochild，"
brokeoffthemansuddenly."Walterhimselfdiedseventeenoreighteenyearsago，notmorethanayearortwoafterhewasmarried.Thatchildmustbesomewherearoundeighteenyearsold！"
"AndonlythinkhowCyrilWASworryingaboutthosetincarts，"
laughedBertram."Nevermind——eightoreighteen——lethimcome.Ifhe’sthatage，hewon’tbothermuch."
"Andthis——er——’Spunk’;doyoutakehim，too？Butprobablyhedoesn’tbother，either，"murmuredCyril，withsmoothsarcasm.
"Gorry！IforgotSpunk，"acknowledgedBertram."Say，whatintimeisSpunk，doyousuppose？"
"Dog，maybe，"suggestedWilliam.
"Well，whateverheis，youwillkindlykeepSpunkdown—stairs，"
saidCyrilwithdecision."Theboy，IsupposeIshallhavetoendure;butthedog——！"
"Hm—m;well，judgingbyhisname，"murmuredBertram，apologetically，"itmaybejustpossiblethatSpunkwon’tbeeasilycontrolled.Butmaybeheisn’tadog，anyhow.He——er——soundssomethinglikeaparrottome."
Cyrilrosetohisfeetabruptly.Hehadeatenalmostnodinner.
"Verywell，"hesaidcoldly."ButpleaserememberthatIholdyouresponsible，Bertram.Whetherit’sadog，oraparrot，or——oramonkey，IshallexpectyoutokeepSpunkdown—stairs.Thisadoptingintothefamilyanunknownboyseemstomeveryabsurdfrombeginningtoend.ButifyouandWilliamwillhaveitso，ofcourseI’venothingtosay.FortunatelymyroomsareattheTOPofthehouse，"hefinished，asheturnedandleftthedining—room.
Foramomenttherewassilence.Thebrowsoftheyoungermanwereupliftedquizzically.
"I’mafraidCyrilisbothered，"murmuredWilliamthen，inatroubledvoice.
Bertram’sfacechanged.Sternlinescametohisboyishmouth.
"Heisalwaysbothered——withanything，lately."
Theeldermansighed.
"Iknow，butwithhistalent——"
"’Talent’！GreatScott！"cutinBertram."Halftheworldhastalentofonesortoranother;butthatdoesn’tnecessarilymakethemunabletolivewithanyoneelse！Really，Will，it’sbecomingserious——aboutCyril.He’sgettingtobe，foralltheworld，likethosefinickyoldmaidsthatthatyoungnamesakeofyourswroteabout.He’llmakeuswhisperandwalkontiptoeyet！"
Theothersmiled.
"Don’tyouworry.Youaren’tinanydangerofbeingkepttooquiet，youngman."
"NothankstoCyril，then，"retortedBertram."Anyhow，that’sonereasonwhyIwasfortakingthekid——tomellowupCyril.Heneedsitallright."
"ButIhadtotakehim，Bert，"arguedtheelderbrother，hisfacegrowinganxiousagain."ButHeavenonlyknowswhatI’mgoingtodowithhimwhenIgethim.WhatshallIsaytohim，anyway？HowshallIwrite？Idon’tknowhowtogetupaletterofthatsort！"
"Whynottakehimathiswordandtelegraph？Ifancyyouwon’thavetosay’come’butoncebeforeyouseehim.Hedoesn’tseemtobeabashfulyouth."
"Hm—m;Imightdothat，"acquiescedWilliam，slowly."Butwasn’ttheresomebody——alawyer——goingtowritetome？"hefinished，consultingtheletterbyhisplate."Yes，"headded，afteramoment，"aMr.Harding.Wonderifhe’sanyrelationtoNedHarding.IusedtoknowNedatHarvard，andseemsasifhecamefromHampdenFalls.We’llsoonsee，atallevents.MaybeI’llhearto—morrow."
"Ishouldn’twonder，"noddedBertram，asherosefromthetable.
"Anyhow，Iwouldn’tdoanythingtillIdidhear."
CHAPTERIV
BILLYSENDSATELEGRAM
JamesHarding’sletterverypromptlyfollowedBilly’s，thoughitwasnotlikeBilly’satall.IttoldsomethingofBilly’sproperty，andmentionedthat，accordingtoMrs.Neilson’swill，Billywouldnotcomeintocontrolofherfortuneuntiltheageoftwenty—oneyearswasreached.ItdweltatsomelengthuponthefactofBilly’slonelinessintheworld，andexpressedthehopethatherfather’sfriendcouldfinditinhishearttowelcometheorphanintohishome.ItmentionedNed，andtheoldcollegefriendship，anditclosedbysayingthatthewriter，JamesHarding，wasgladtorenewhisacquaintancewiththegoodoldHenshawfamilythathehadknownlongyearsago;andthathehopedsoontohearfromWilliamHenshawhimself.
Itwasagoodletter——butitwasnotwellwritten.JamesHarding’shandwritingwasnotdistinguishedforitslegibility，andhiscorrespondentsrejoicedthatthemostofhislettersweredictatedtohisstenographer.Inthiscase，however，hehadelectedtousethemorepersonalpen;anditwasbecauseofthisthatWilliamHenshaw，evenafterreadingtheletter，wasstillunawareofhismistakeinsupposinghisnamesake，Billy，tobeaboy.
InthemainthelawyerhadreferredtoBillybyname，oras"theorphan，"orasthat"poor，lonelychild."Andwheneverthemoredistinctivefeminine"her"or"herself"hadoccurred，thecarelesslyformedlettershadmadethemsomuchlike"his"and"himself"thattheycarriednohintofthetruthtoamanwhohadnottheslightestreasonforthinkinghimselfinthewrong.Itwasthereforestillforthe"boy，"Billy，thatWilliamHenshawatoncesetaboutmakingaplaceinthehome.
Firsthetelegraphedthesingleword"Come"toBilly.
"I’llsetthepoorlad’sheartatrest，"hesaidtoBertram."I
shallanswerHarding’slettermoreatlength，ofcourse.NaturallyhewantstoknowsomethingaboutmenowbeforehesendsBillyalong;butthereisnoneedfortheboytowaitbeforeheknowsthatI’lltakehim.Ofcoursehewon’tcomeyet，tillHardinghearsfromme."
Itwasjusthere，however，thatWilliamHenshawmetwithasurprise，forwithintwenty—fourhourscameBilly’sanswer，andbytelegraph.
"I’mcomingto—morrow.TraindueatfiveP.M.
"BILLY."
WilliamHenshawdidnotknowthatinHampdenFallsBilly’strunkhadbeenpackedfordays.Billywasdesperate.Thehouse，evenwiththemaid，andwiththeobligingneighborandhiswifewhostayedtherenights，wastoBillynothingbutadismaltomb.
LawyerHardinghadfallensuddenlyill;shecouldnoteventellhimthattheblessedtelegram"Come"hadarrived.HenceBilly，lonely，impulsive，andalwaysusedtopleasingherself，hadtakenmattersinhandwithaconfidentgrasp，andhaddeterminedtowaitnolonger.
Thatitwasafearsomelyunknownfuturetowhichshewassojauntilypledgingherselfdidnottroublethegirlintheleast.
Billywasromantic.Tosallygailyforthwithapinkinthebuttonholeofhercoattofindherfather’sfriendwhowasa"Billy"too，seemedtoBillyNeilsonnotonlydelightful，buteminentlysensible，andanexcellentwayoutofherpresenthomesickloneliness.Sosheboughtthepinkandherticket，andimpatientlyawaitedthetimetostart.
TotheBeaconStreethouse，Billy’scheerfultelegrambroughtthedirestconsternation.EvenKatewashastilysummonedtothefamilyconclavethatimmediatelyresulted.
"There’snothing——simplynothingthatIcando，"shedeclaredirritably，whenshehadheardthestory."Surely，youdon’texpectMEtotaketheboy！"
"No，no，ofcoursenot，"sighedWilliam."Butyousee，IsupposedI’dhavetimeto——togetusedtothings，andtomakearrangements;
andthisisso——sosudden！Ihadn’tevenansweredHarding’sletteruntilto—day;andhehasn’tgotthat——muchlessrepliedtoit."
"Butwhatcouldyouexpectaftersendingthatidiotictelegram？"
demandedthelady."’Come，’indeed！"
"Butthat’swhatBillytoldmetodo."
"Whatifitwas？Justbecauseafoolisheighteen—year—oldboytellsyoutodosomething，mustyou，asupposedlysensibleforty—
year—oldmanobey？"
"IthinkittickledWill’sromanticstreak，"laughedBertram."Itseemedsosortofalluringtosendthatoneword’Come’outintospace，andwatchwhathappened."
"Well，he’sfoundout，certainly，"observedCyril，withgrimsatisfaction.
"Oh，no;ithasn’thappenedyet，"correctedBertram，cheerfully.
"It’sjustgoingtohappen.William’sgottoputonthepinkfirst，youknow.That’sthetalisman."
Williamreddened.
"Bertram，don’tbefoolish.Isha’n’twearanypink.Youmustknowthat."
"How’llyoufindhim，then？"
"Why，he’llhaveoneon;that’senough，"settledWilliam.
"Hm—m;maybe.Thenhe’llhaveSpunk，too，"murmuredBertram，mischievously.
"Spunk！"criedKate.
"Yes.Hewrotethathehopedwewouldn’tmindhisbringingSpunkwithhim."
"Who’sSpunk？
"Wedon’tknow."Bertram’slipstwitched.
"Youdon’tknow！Whatdoyoumean？"
"Well，Willthinksit’sadog，andIbelieveCyrilisanticipatingamonkey.Imyselfambackingitforaparrot."
"Boys，whathaveyoudone！"groanedKate，fallingbackinherchair."Whathaveyoudone！"
ToWilliamherwordswerelikeanelectricshockstirringhimtoinstantaction.Hesprangabruptlytohisfeet.
"Well，whateverwe’vedone，we’vedoneit，"hedeclaredsternly;
"andnowwemustdotherest——anddoitwell，too.He’sthesonofmyboyhood’sdearestfriend，andheshallbemadewelcome.Nowtobusiness！Bertram，yousaidyou’dtakehimin.Didyoumeanit？"
Bertramsoberedinstantly，andcameerectinhischair.Williamdidnotoftenspeaklikethis;butwhenhedid——
"Yes，Will.Heshallhavethelittlebedroomattheendofthehall.Ineverusedtheroommuch，anyhow，andwhatfewdudsIhavethereshallbeclearedoutto—morrow."
"Good！Nowtherearesomeotherlittledetailstoarrange，thenI’llgodown—stairsandtellPeteandDongLing.And，pleasetounderstand，we’regoingtomakethisladwelcome——welcome，Isay！"
"Yes，sir，"saidBertram.NeitherKatenorCyrilspoke.
CHAPTERV
GETTINGREADYFORBILLY
TheHenshawhouseholdwasearlyastironthedayofBilly’sexpectedarrival，andpreparationsfortheguest’scomfortwerewellunderwaybeforebreakfast.Thecenterofactivitywasinthelittleroomattheendofthehallonthesecondfloor;though，asBertramsaid，thewholeStratafeltthe"upheaval."
BybreakfasttimeBertramwiththeavowedintentionofgiving"thelittlechaphalfashow，"hadtheroomclearedforaction;andafterthatthewholehousewascalleduponforcontributionstowardtheroom’sadornment.Andmostgenerouslydidmostofthehouserespond.EvenDongLingslipperedup—stairsandpresentedaweirdChinesebannerwhichhesaidhewas"vellymuchglad"togive.AstoPete——Petewasinhiselement.Petelovedboys.Hadhenotservedthemnearlyallhislife？Incidentallyitmaybementionedthathedidnotcareforgirls.
OnlyCyrilheldhimselfaloof.Butthathewasnotobliviousoftheproceedingsbelowhimwasevidencedbythesomberbassthatfloateddownfromhispianostrings.Cyrilalwaysplayedaccordingtothemoodthatwasonhim;andwhenBertramheardthismorningtherhythmicbeatsofmournfulness，hechuckledandsaidtoWilliam：
"That’sChopin’sFuneralMarch.EvidentlyCythinksthisisthedeathknelltoallhishopesoffuturepeaceandhappiness."
"Dearme！IwishCyrilwouldtakesomeinterest，"grievedWilliam.
"Oh，hetakesinterestallright，"laughedBertram，meaningly."HetakesINTEREST！"
"Iknow，but——Bertram，"brokeofftheelderman，anxiously，fromhisperchonthestepladder，"wouldyouputtherifleoverthiswindow，orthefishing—rod？"
"Why，Idon’tthinkitmakesmuchdifference，solongasthey’resomewhere，"answeredBertram."AndtherearetheseIndianclubsandtheswordstobedisposedof，youknow."
"Yes;andit’sgoingtolookfine;don’tyouthink？"exultedWilliam."Andyouknowforthewall—spacebetweenthewindowsI’mgoingtobringdownthatcaseofmine，ofspiders."
Bertramraisedhishandsinmocksurprise.
"Here——downhere！You’regoingtotrustanyofthoseprecioustreasuresofyoursdownhere！"
Williamfrowned.
"Nonsense，Bertram，don’tbesilly！They’llbesafeenough.
Besides，they’reold，anyhow.Iwasonspidersyearsago——whenI
wasBilly’sage，infact.Ithoughthe’dlikethemhere.Youknowboysalwayslikesuchthings."
"Oh，’twasn’tBillyIwasworryingabout，"retortedBertram."Itwasyou——andthespiders."
"Notmuchyouworryaboutme——oranythingelse，"repliedWilliam，good—humoredly."There！howdoesthatlook？"hefinished，ashecarefullypickedhiswaydownthestepladder.
"Fine！——er——onlyratherwarlike，maybe，withthegunsandthatriotousconfusionofknivesandscimitersoverthechiffonier.Butthen，maybeyou’reintendingBillyforasoldier;eh？"
"Doyouknow？IAMgettinginterestedinthatboy，"beamedWilliam，withsomeexcitement."Whatkindofthingsdoyousupposehedoeslike？"
"There’snotelling.Maybehe’sasissychap，andwillhowlatyourgunsandspiders.Perhapshe’llpreferautumnleavesandworstedmottoesfordecoration."
"Notmuchhewill，"contestedtheother."NosonofWalterNeilson’scouldbeasissy.Neilsonwasthebesthalf—backintenyearsatHarvard，andhewasalwaysinforeverythinggoingthatwasworthwhile.’Autumnleavesandworstedmottoes’indeed！
Bah！"
"Allright;butthere’sstilladarkhorseinthecase，youknow.
Wemustn’tforget——Spunk."
Theeldermanstirreduneasily.
"Bert，whatdoyousupposethatcreatureis？Youdon’tthinkCyrilcanberight，andthatit’sa——monkey？"
"’Younevercantell，’"quotedBertram，merrily."OfcoursethereAREotherthings.Ifitwereyou，now，we’donlyhavetohuntupthespecialthingyouhappenedtobecollectingatthetime，andthatwouldbeit：asnake，alizard，atoad，ormaybeabutterfly.
Youknowyouwerealwaysluggingthosethingshomewhenyouwerehisage."
"Yes，Iknow，"sighedWilliam."ButIcan’tthinkit’sanythinglikethat，"hefinished，asheturnedaway.
TherewasverylittledoneintheBeaconStreethousethatdaybutto"getreadyforBilly."InthekitchenDongLingcooked.
Everywhereelse，exceptinCyril’sdomain，Petedustedandsweptand"puttered"tohisheart’scontent.Williamdidnotgototheofficeatallthatday，andBertramdidnottouchhisbrushes.
OnlyCyrilattendedtohisusualwork：practisingforacomingconcert，andcorrectingtheproofsofhisnewbook，"MusicinRussia."
AttenminutesbeforefiveWilliam，anxious—eyedandnervous，foundhimselfattheNorthStation.Then，andnottillthen，didhedrawalongbreathofrelief.
"There！Ithinkeverything’sready，"hesighedtohimself."Atlast！"
Heworenopinkinhisbuttonhole.Therewasnoneedthatheshouldaccedetothatsillyrequest，hetoldhimself.Hehadonlytolookforayouthofperhapseighteenyears，whowouldbealone，alittlefrightened，possibly，andwhowouldhaveapinkinhisbuttonhole，andprobablyadogonaleash.
Ashewaited，themanwasconsciousofacuriouswarmthathisheart.Itwashisnamesake，WalterNeilson’sboy，thathehadcometomeet;ahomesick，lonelyorphanwhohadappealedtohim——tohim，outofalltheworld.Longyearsagoinhisownarmstherehadbeenlaidatinybundleofflannelholdingapreciouslittlered，puckeredface.Butinamonth’stimethelittlefacehadturnedcoldandwaxen，andthehopesthatthewhiteflannelbundlehadcarriedhaddiedwiththebabyboy;——andthatbabywouldhavebeenaladgrownbythistime，ifhehadlived——aladnotfarfromtheageofthisBillywhowascomingto—day，reflectedtheman.AndthewarmthinhisheartdeepenedandglowedthemoreashestoodwaitingatthegateforBillytoarrive.
ThetrainfromHampdenFallswaslate.Notuntilquitefifteenminutespastfivediditrollintothetrain—shed.Thenatonceitslonglineofpassengersbegantosweeptowardtheirongate.
Williamwasjustinsidethegatenow，anxiouslyscanningeveryfaceandformthatpassed.Thereweremanyhalf—grownlads，buttherewasnotonewithapinkinhisbuttonholeuntilveryneartheend.
ThenWilliamsawhim——apleasant—faced，blue—eyedboyinaneatgraysuit.WithalowcryWilliamstartedforward;buthesawatoncethatthegray—cladyouthwasunmistakablyoneofamerryfamilyparty.Helookedtobeanythingbutaladthatwaslonelyandforlorn.
Williamhesitatedandfellback.Thisdebonair，self—reliantfellowcouldnotbeBilly！Butasahastyglancedownthelinerevealedonlyhalfadozenstragglingwomen，andbeyondthem，noone，WilliamdecidedthatitmustbeBilly;andtakingbraveholdofhiscourage，hehurriedaftertheblue—eyedyouthandtappedhimontheshoulder.
"Er——aren’tyouBilly？"hestammered.
Theladstoppedandstared.Heshookhisheadslowly.
"No，sir，"hesaid.
"Butyoumustbe！Areyousure？"
Theboylaughedthistime.
"Sorry，sir，butmynameis’Frank’;isn’tit，mother？"headdedmerrily，turningtotheladyathisside，whowasregardingWilliamveryunfavorablythroughapairofgold—bowedspectacles.
Williamdidnotwaitformore.Withastammeredapologyandaflusteredliftingofhishathebackedaway.
ButwherewasBilly？
Williamlookedabouthiminhelplessdismay.Allaroundwasawide，emptyspace.ThelongaisletotheHampdenFallstrainwasdesertedsaveforthebaggage—menloadingthetrunksandbagsontotheirtrucks.Nowherewasthereanyonewhoseemedforlornorillateaseexceptaprettygirlwithasuit—case，andwithacoveredbasketonherarm，whostoodjustoutsidethegate，gazingalittlenervouslyabouther.
Williamlookedtwiceatthisgirl.First，becausethesplashofcoloragainstherbrowncoathadcalledhisattentiontothefactthatshewaswearingapink;andsecondlybecauseshewasverypretty，andherdarkeyescarriedapeculiarlywistfulappeal.
"ToobadBertramisn’there，"thoughtWilliam."He’dbesketchingthatfaceinnotimeonhiscuff."
ThepinkhadgivenWilliamalmostapang.Hehadbeensolongingtoseeapink——thoughinadifferentplace.Hewonderedsympatheticallyifshe，too，hadcometomeetsomeonewhohadnotappeared.Henoticedthatshewalkedawayfromthegateonceortwice，towardthewaiting—room，andpeeredanxiouslythroughtheglassdoors;butalwaysshecamebacktothegateasiffearfultobelongawayfromthatplace.Heforgotallaboutherverysoon，forhermovementshadgivenhimasuddenidea：perhapsBillywasinthewaiting—room.Howstupidofhimnottothinkofitbefore！
Doubtlesstheyhadmissedeachotherinthecrowd，andBillyhadgonestraighttothewaiting—roomtolookforhim.AndwiththisthoughtWilliamhurriedawayatonce，leavingthegirlstillstandingbythegatealone.
Helookedeverywhere.Systematicallyhepacedupanddownbetweenthelongrowsofseats，lookingforaboywithapink.Heevenwentoutuponthestreet，andgazedanxiouslyinalldirections.
ItoccurredtohimafteratimethatpossiblyBilly，likehimself，hadchangedhismindatthelastmoment，andnotwornthepink.
Perhapshehadforgottenit，orlostit，orevennotbeenabletogetitatall.VerybitterlyWilliamblamedhimselfthenfordisregardinghisownpartofthesuggestedplan.Ifonlyhehadwornthepinkhimself！——buthehadnot;anditwasuselesstorepine.Inthemeantime，wherewasBilly，hewonderedfrantically.
CHAPTERVI
THECOMINGOFBILLY
AfteranotherlongsearchWilliamcamebacktothetrain—shed，vaguelyhopingthatBillymighteventhenbethere.Thegirlwasstillstandingalonebythegate.Therewasanothertrainonthetracknow，andtherushofmanyfeethadsweptheralittletooneside.Shelookedfrightenednow，andalmostreadytocry.Still，Williamnoticedthatherchinwasliftedbravely，andthatshewasmakingasterneffortatself—control.Hehesitatedamoment，thenwentstraighttowardher.
"Ibegyourpardon，"hesaidkindly，liftinghishat，"butInoticethatyouhavebeenwaitingheresometime.PerhapsthereissomethingIcandoforyou."
Arosycolorswepttothegirl’sface.Hereyeslosttheirfrightenedappeal，andsmiledfranklyintohis.
"Oh，thankyou，sir！ThereISsomethingyoucandoforme，ifyouwillbesokind.Yousee，Ican’tleavethisplace，I’msoafraidhe’llcomeandI’llmisshim.But——Ithinkthere’ssomemistake.
Couldyoutelephoneforme？"BillyNeilsonwascountry—bred，andinHampdenFallsallmenservedallothermenandwomen，whethertheywerestrangersornot;sotoBillythiswasnotanextraordinaryrequesttomake，intheleast.
WilliamHenshawsmiled.
"Certainly;Ishallbeverygladtotelephoneforyou.Justtellmewhomyouwant，andwhatyouwanttosay."
"Thankyou.Ifyou’llcallupMr.WilliamHenshaw，then，ofBeaconStreet，please，andtellhimBilly’scome.I’llwaithere."
"Oh，thenBillydidcome！"criedthemaningladsurprise，hisfacealight."Butwhereishe？DoYOUknowBilly？"
"IshouldsayIdid，"laughedBilly，withthelightnessofalong—
lostchildwhohasfoundafriend."Why，IamBilly，myself！"
ToWilliamHenshawtheworldswamdizzily，andwentsuddenlymad.
Thefloorrose，andtherooffell，whilecarsandpeopleperformedimpossibleacrobaticfeatsabove，below，andaroundhim.Then，fromafaroff，heheardhisownvoicestammer：
"You——are——B—Billy！"
"Yes;andI’llwaithere，ifyou’lljusttellhim，please.He’sexpectingme，youknow，soit’sallright，onlyperhapshemadeamistakeinthetime.Maybeyouknowhim，anyhow."
WithonemightyeffortWilliamHenshawpulledhimselfsharplytogether.Heevenlaughed，andtossedhisheadinavaliantimitationofBillyherself;buthisvoiceshook.
"Knowhim！——IshouldsayIdid！"hecried."Why，IamWilliamHenshaw，myself."
"You！——UncleWilliam！Why，where’syourpink？"
Theman’sfacewasalreadysoreditcouldnotgetanyredder——butittriedtodoso.
"Why，er——I——it——er——ifyou’lljustcomeintothewaiting—roomaminute，mydear，"hestutteredmiserably，"I——I’llexplain——aboutthat.Ishallhavetoleaveyou——foraminute，"heplungedonfrenziedly，asheledthewaytoaseat;"A——matterofbusinessthatImustattendto.I’llbe——rightback.Waithere，please！"
Andhealmostpushedthegirlintoaseatandhurriedaway.
AtasafedistanceWilliamHenshawturnedandlookedback.Hiskneeswereshaking，andhisfingershadgrowncoldattheirtips.
Hecouldseeherplainly，asshebentoverthebasketinherlap.
Hecouldseeeventheprettycurveofhercheek，andofherslenderthroatwhensheliftedherhead.
AndthatwasBilly——aGIRL！
Peoplenearhimatthatmomentsawaflushed—faced，nervous—
appearingmanthrowuphishandswithadespairinggesture，rollhiseyesheavenward，andthenplungeintothenearesttelephonebooth.
InduetimeWilliamHenshawhadhisbrotherBertramattheotherendofthewire.
"Bertram！"hecalledshakily.
"Hullo，Will;thatyou？What’sthematter？You’relate！Didn’thecome？"
"Come！"groanedWilliam."GoodLord！Bertram——Billy’saGIRL！"
"Awh—what？"
"Agirl."
"AGIRL！"
"Yes，yes！Don’tstandthererepeatingwhatIsayinthatidioticfashion，Bertram.Dosomething——dosomething！"
"’Dosomething’！"gaspedBertram."GreatScott，Will！Ifyouwantmetodosomething，don’tknockmesillywithablowlikethat.
Nowwhatdidyousay？"
"IsaidthatBillyis——a——girl.Can’tyougetthat？"demandedWilliam，despairingly.
"Well，byJove！"breathedBertram.
"Come，come，think！Whatshallwedo？"
"Why，bringherhome，ofcourse."
"Home——home！"chatteredWilliam."Doyouthinkwefivemencanbringupadistractinglyprettyeighteen—year—oldgirlwithcurlycheeksandpinkhair？"
"Withwha—at？"
"No，no.Imeancurlyhairandpinkcheeks.Bertram，dobesensible，"beggedtheman."Thisisserious！"
"Serious！Ishouldsayitwas！OnlyfancywhatCywillsay！A
girl！Holysmoke！Toteheralong——Iwanttoseeher！"
"ButIsaywecan’tkeephertherewithus，Bertram.Don’tyouseewecan’t？"
"ThentakehertoKate’s，orto——tooneofthoseYoungWomen’sChristianUnionthings."
"No，no，Ican’tdothat.That’simpossible.Don’tyouunderstand？She’sexpectingtogohomewithme——HOME！I’mherUncleWilliam."
"LuckyUncleWilliam！"
"Bestill，Bertram！"
"Well，doesn’tsheknowyour——mistake？——thatyouthoughtshewasaboy？"
"Heavenforbid！——Ihopenot，"criedtheman，fervently."I’mostletitoutonce，butIthinkshedidn’tnoticeit.Yousee，we——wewerebothsurprised."
"Well，Ishouldsay！"
"And，Bertram，Ican’tturnherout——Ican’t，Itellyou.Onlyfancymygoingtohernowandsaying：’Ifyouplease，Billy，youcan’tliveatmyhouse，afterall.Ithoughtyouwereaboy，youknow！’GreatScott！Bert，ifshe’donceturnedthosebigbrowneyesofhersonyouasshehasonme，you’dsee！"
"I’dbedelighted，I’msure，"sungamerryvoiceacrossthewires.
"Soundsrealinteresting！"
"Bertram，can’tyoubeseriousandhelpmeout？"
"ButwhatCANwedo？"
"Idon’tknow.We’llhavetothink;butfornow，getKate.
Telephoneher.Tellhertocomerightstraightover，andthatshe’sgottostayallnight."
"Allnight！"
"Ofcourse！Billy’sgottohaveachaperon;hasn’tshe？Nowhurry.Weshallbeuprightaway."
"Kate’sgotcompany."
"Nevermind——leave’em.Tellhershe’sgottoleave’em.AndtellCyril，ofcourse，whattoexpect.And，looka—here，youtwobehave，now.Noneofyournonsense！Nowmind.I’mnotgoingtohavethischildtormented."
"Iwon’tbataneyelid——onmyword，Iwon’t，"chuckledBertram.
"But，oh，Isay，——Will！"
"Yes."
"What’sSpunk？"
"Eh？——oh——GreatScott！IforgotSpunk.Idon’tknow.She’sgotabasket.He’sinthat，Isuppose.Anyhow，hecan’tbeanymoreofabombshellthanhismistresswas.Nowbequick，andnoneofyourfooling，Bertram.Tellthemall——PeteandDongLing.Don’tforget.Iwouldn’thaveBillyfindoutfortheworld！FixitupwithKate.You’llhavetofixitupwithher;that’sall！"Andtherecamethesharpclickofthereceiveragainstthehook.
CHAPTERVII
INTRODUCINGSPUNK
InthesoftApriltwilightCyrilwasplayingadreamywaltzwhenBertramknocked，andpushedopenthedoor.
"Say，oldchap，you’llhavetoquityourmooningthistimeandsitupandtakenotice."
"Whatdoyoumean？"Cyrilstoppedplayingandturnedabruptly.
"ImeanthatWillhasgonecrazy，andIthinktherestofusaregoingtofollowsuit."
Cyrilshruggedhisshouldersandwhirledaboutonthepianostool.
Inamomenthisfingershadslidoncemoreintothedreamywaltz.
"Whenyougetreadytotalksense，I’lllisten，"hesaidcoldly.
"Oh，verywell;ifyoureallywantitbrokengently，it’sthis：
WillhasmetBilly，andBillyisagirl.They’redueherenow’mostanytime."
Themusicstoppedwithacrash.
"A——GIRL！"
"Yes，agirl.Oh，I’vebeenallthroughthat，andIknowhowyoufeel.ButasnearasIcanmakeout，it’sreallyso.I’vehadinstructionstotelleverybody，andI’vetold.IgotKateonthetelephone，andshe’scomingover.YouKNOWwhatSHE’LLbe.DongLingishavingwhatIsupposeareChinesehystericsinthekitchen;
andPeteisswingingbackandforthlikeapenduluminthedining—
room，moaning’GoodLord，deliverus！’ateverybreath.Iwouldsuggestthatyoufollowmedown—stairssothatwemaybedecentlyreadyfor——whatevercomes."Andheturnedaboutandstalkedoutoftheroom，followedbyCyril，whowastoostunnedtoopenhislips.
Katecamefirst.Shewasnotstunned.Shehadagreatdealtosay.
"Really，thisisalittlethemostabsurdthingIeverheardof，"
shefumed."Whatintheworlddoesyourbrothermean？"
ThatshequiteignoredherownrelationshiptotheculpritwasnotlostonBertram.Hemadeinstantresponse.
"AsnearasIcanmakeout，"herepliedsmoothly，"YOURbrotherhasfallenundertheswayofapairofgreatdarkeyes，twopinkcheeks，andanunknownquantityofcurlyhair，allofwhichinitsentiretyishisnamesake，islonesome，andisinneedofahome."
"Butshecan’tlive——here！"
"Willsayssheshall."
"Butthatisutternonsense，"cutinCyril.
"ForonceIagreewithyou，Cyril，"laughedBertram;"butWilliamdoesn’t."
"Buthowcanshedoit？"demandedKate.
"Don’tknow，"answeredBertram."He’sestablishedapetticoatproprietyinyouforafewhours，atleast.Meanwhile，he’sgoingtothink.Atleast，hesaysheis，andthatwe’vegottohelphim."
"Humph！"snappedKate."Well，Icanprophesywesha’n’tthinkalike——soyou’dnoticeit！"
"Iknowthat，"noddedBertram;"andI’mwithyouandCyrilonthis.
Thewholethingisabsurd.Theideaofthrustingasilly，eighteen—year—oldgirlhereintoourlivesinthisfashion！ButyouknowwhatWilliswhenhe’sreallyroused.Youmightaswelltrytomoveanicegood—naturedmountainbysaying’please，’astotrytostirhimundercertaincircumstances.Mostofthetime，I’llown，wecantwisthimaroundourlittlefingers.Butnotnow.
You’llsee.Inthefirstplace，she’sthedaughterofhisdeadfriend，andsheDIDwriteapatheticlittleletter.Itgottotheinsideofme，anyhow，whenIthoughtshewasaboy."
"Aboy！Whowouldn’tthinkshewasaboy？"interposedCyril.
"’Billy，’indeed！Canyoutellmewhatforanysanemanshouldhavenamedagirl’Billy’？"
"ForWilliam，yourbrother，evidently，"retortedBertram，dryly.
"Anyhow，hedidit，andofcourseourmistakewasaverynaturalone.Thedickensofitisnowthatwe’vegottokeepitfromher，soWillsays;andhow——hush！heretheyare，"hebrokeoff，astherecamethesoundofwheelsstoppingbeforethehouse.
Therefollowedtheclickofakeyinthelockandtheopeningofaheavydoor;then，fullintheglareoftheelectriclightsstoodaplainlynervousman，andagirlwithstartled，appealingeyes.
"Mydear，"stammeredWilliam，"thisismysister，Kate，Mrs.
Hartwell;andhereareCyrilandBertram，whomI’vetoldyouof.
AndofcourseIdon’tneedtosaytothemthatyouareBilly."
Itwasover.Williamdrewalongbreath，andgaveanagonizedlookintohisbrothers’eyes.ThenBillyturnedfromMrs.Hartwellandheldoutacordialhandtoeachofthemeninturn.
"Oh，youdon’tknowhowlovelythisis——tome，"shecriedsoftly.
"AndtothinkthatyouwerewillingIshouldcome！"Thetwoyoungermencaughttheirbreathsharply，andtriednottoseeeachother’seyes."Youlooksogood——allofyou;andIdon’tbelievethere’soneofyouthat’sgotnervesoraheart，"shelaughed.
Bertramralliedhiswitstorespondtothechallenge.
"Noheart，MissBilly？Nowisn’tthatjustabithardonus——rightatfirst？"
"Notamite，ifyoutakeitthewayImeanit，"dimpledBilly.
"Heartsthatareallrightjustkeeponpumping，andyouneverknowtheyarethere.Theyaren’tworthmentioning.It’stheotherkind——thekindthatfluttersattheleastnoiseandjumpsattheleastbang！AndIdon’tbelieveanyofyoumindnoisesandbangs，"
shefinishedmerrily，asshehandedherhatandcoattoMrs.
Hartwell，whowaswaitingtoreceivethem.
Bertramlaughed.Cyrilscowled，andoccupiedhimselfinfindingachair.Williamhadalreadydroppedhimselfwearilyontothesofanearhissister.Billystillcontinuedtotalk.
"NowwhenSpunkandIgettotraining——oh，andyouhaven’tseenSpunk！"sheinterruptedherselfsuddenly."Why，theintroductionsaren’thalfover.Whereishe，UncleWilliam——thebasket？"
"I——Iputitin——inthehall，"mumbledWilliam，startingtorise.
"No，no;I’llgethim，"criedBilly，hurryingfromtheroom.Shereturnedinamoment，thegreencoveredbasketinherhand."He’sbeenasleep，Iguess.He’sslept’mostallthewaydown，anyhow.
He’ssousedtobeingtoted’roundinthisbasketthathedoesn’tminditabit.ItakehimeverywhereinitattheFalls."
Therewasanelectricpause.Fourpairsofstartled，questioning，fearfuleyeswereonthebasketwhileBillyfumbledattheknotofthestring.Thenextmoment，withatriumphantflourish，Billyliftedfromthebasketandplacedontheflooraverysmallgraykittenwithaverylargepinkbow.
"There，ladiesandgentlemen，mayIpresenttoyou，Spunk."
Thetinycreaturewinkedandblinked，andbalancedforamomentonsleepylegs;thenattheuncontrollableshoutthatburstfromBertram’sthroat，hefacedtheman，humpedhistinyback，bristledhisdiminutivetailtoalmostunbelievablefluffiness，andspitwrathfully.
"AndsothatisSpunk！"chokedBertram.
"Yes，"saidBilly."ThisisSpunk."
CHAPTERVIII
THEROOM——ANDBILLY
ForthefirstfifteenminutesafterBilly’sarrivalconversationwasafitfulthingmadeupmostlyofamerrymonologueonthepartofBillyherself，interspersedwithsomewhatdazedrepliesfromoneafteranotherofherauditorsasshetalkedtotheminturn.Noonethoughttoaskifshecaredtogouptoherroom，andduringtheentirefifteenminutesBillysatonthefloorwithSpunkinherlap.ShewasstilltherewhenthefunerealfaceofPeteappearedinthedoorway.Pete’sjawdropped.Itwasplainthatonlythesternestself—controlenabledhimtoannouncedinner，withanythinglikedignity.Buthemanagedtostammeroutthewords，andthenturnloftilyaway.Bertram，whosatnearthedoor，however，sawhimraisehishandsinhorrorasheplungedthroughthehallanddownthestairway.
WithamotiontoBertramtoleadthewaywithBilly，Williamfrenziedlygrippedhissister’sarm，andhissedinherearforalltheworldlikeavillaininmelodrama：
"Listen！You’llsleepinBert’sroomto—night，andBertwillcomeup—stairswithme.GetBillytobedassoonasyoucanafterdinner，andthencomebackdowntous.We’vegottoplanwhat’sgottobedone.Sh—h！"Andhedraggedhissisterdownstairs.
Inthedining—roomtherewasaslightcommotion.BillystoodatherchairwithSpunkinherarms.BeforeherPetewasstanding，dumblystaringintohereyes.Atlasthestammered：
"Ma’am？"
"Achair，please，Isaid，forSpunk，youknow.Spunkalwayssitsatthetablerightnexttome."
ItwastoomuchforBertram.Hefledchokinglytothehall.
Williamdroppedweaklyintohisownplace.CyrilstaredashadPete;butMrs.Hartwellspoke.
"Youdon’tmean——thatthatcat——hasachair——atthetable！"shegasped.
"Yes;andisn’titcuteofhim？"beamedBilly，entirelymisconstruingthesurpriseinthelady’svoice."Hismotheralwayssatattablewithus，andbehavedbeautifully，too.OfcourseSpunkislittle，andmakesmistakessometimes.Buthe’lllearn.Oh，there’sachairrighthere，"sheadded，asshespiedBertram’schildhood’shigh—chair，whichforlongyearshadstoodunusedinthecorner.
"I’lljustsqueezeitrightinhere，"shefinishedgleefully，makingroomforthechairatherside.
WhenBertram，alittleredofface，butverygrave，entered，thedining—roomamomentlater，hefoundthefamilyseatedwithSpunksnuglyplacedbetweenBillyandaplainlydisgustedanddismayedbrother，Cyril.Thekittenwasalertandinterested;buthehadsettledbackinhischair，andwaslookingasabsurdlydignifiedastheflaringpinkbowwouldlethim.
"Isn’theadear？"Billywassaying.ButBertramnoticedthattherewasnoreplytothisquestion.
Itwasapeculiardinner—party.OnlyBillydidnotfeelthestrain.EvenSpunkwasnotentirelyhappy——hiseffortstoinvestigatethetableanditscontentsweretoofrequentlycurbedbyhismistressforhisunalloyedsatisfaction.William，itistrue，madeavaliantattempttocausetheconversationtobegeneral;buthefaileddismally.Katewassternlysilent，whileCyrilwasopenlyrepellent.Bertramtalked，indeed——butBertramalwaystalked;andverysoonheandBillyhadthingsprettymuchtothemselves——thatis，withoccasionalinterruptionscausedbySpunk.
Spunkhadaninquisitivenoseorpawforeachnewdishplacedbeforehismistress;andBillyspentmuchtimeadmonishinghim.
Billysaidshewastraininghim;thatitwaswonderfulwhattrainingwoulddo，and，ofcourse，SpunkWASlittle，now.
DinnerwashalfoverwhentherewasaslightdiversioncreatedbySpunk’sconclusiontogetacquaintedwiththesilentmanathisleft.Cyril，however，didnotrespondtoSpunk’sadvances.Soveryevident，indeed，wastheman’saversionthatBillyturnedinamazement.
返回顶部