第26章

Well，byGeorge!’murmuredtheman，weakly，adawningamazementdrivingthefrownfromhisface。

Spgggh——oo——wah!’gurgledtheboy，holdingouttwotinyfists。

Aslowsmilecametotheman’sface。

Well，I’ll——be——darned，’hemutteredhalf-

shamefacedly，whollydelightedly。Iftherascaldoesn’tactasifhe——knewme!’

Ah——goo——spggghh!’grinnedtheinfant，toothlessly，butentrancingly。

WithalmostastealthytouchCyrilclosedthedoorbackofhim，andadvancedalittledubiouslytowardhisson。Hiscountenancecarriedamixtureofguilt，curiosity，anddoggeddeterminationsoludicrousthatitwasapitynonebutbabyeyescouldseeit。Asiftomeetmorenearlyonalevelthisbafflingnewacquaintance，Cyrilgottohisknees——somewhatstiffly，itmustbeconfessed——andfacedhisson。

Goo——eee——ooo——yah!’crowedthebabynow，thrashinglegsandarmsaboutinatransportofjoyattheacquisitionofthisnewplaymate。

Well，well，youngman，you——youdon’tsayso!’stammeredthegrowingly-proudfather，thrustingaplainlytimidandunaccustomedfingertowardhisoffspring。Soyoudoknowme，eh？Well，whoamI？’

Da——da!’gurgledtheboy，triumphantlyclutchingtheoutstretchedfinger，andholdingonwithatenacitythatbroughtagleefulchuckletothelipsoftheman。

Jove!butaren’tyouthestronglittlebeggar，though!Needn’ttellmeyoudon’tknowagoodthingwhenyouseeit!SoI’m`da-da，’amI？’

hewenton，unhesitatinglyacceptingasthepuregoldofknowledgetheshamelessimitationvocabularyhissonwasfoistinguponhim。Well，I

expectIam，and——’

Oh，Cyril!’Thedoorhadopened，andMariewasintheroom。Ifshegaveastartofsurpriseatherhusband’sunaccustomedattitude，shequicklycontrolledherself。Juliasaidyouwantedme。Imusthavebeengoingdownthebackstairswhenyoucameupthefront，and——’

Please，Mrs。Henshaw，isitDotyouhaveinhere，orDimple？’askedanewvoice，asthesecondnurseenteredbyanotherdoor。

BeforeMrs。Henshawcouldanswer，Cyril，whohadgottohisfeet，turnedsharply。

Isit——_who_？’hedemanded。

Oh!Oh，Mr。Henshaw，’stammeredthegirl。

Ibegyourpardon。Ididn’tknowyouwerehere。

ItwasonlythatIwantedtoknowwhichbabyitwas。WethoughtwehadDotwithus，until——’

Dot!Dimple!’explodedtheman。Doyoumeantosayyouhavegivenmy_sons_theridiculousnamesof`_Dot_’and`_Dimple_’？’

Why，no——yes——well，thatis——wehadtocallthemsomething，’falteredthenurse，aswithadespairingglanceathermistress，sheplungedthroughthedoorway。

Cyrilturnedtohiswife。

Marie，whatisthemeaningofthis？’hedemanded。

Why，Cyril，dear，don’t——don’tgetsowroughtup，’shebegged。It’sonlyasMarysaid，we_had_tocallthemsomething，and——’

Wroughtup，indeed!’interruptedCyril，savagely。Whowouldn’tbe？`Dot’and`Dimple’!

GreatScott!Onewouldthinkthoseboyswereacoupleofkittensorpuppies；thattheydidn’tknowanything——didn’thaveanybrains!

Buttheyhave——iftheotherisanythinglikethisone，atleast，’hedeclared，pointingtohissononthefloor，who，atthisopportunemomentjoinedintheconversationtotheextentofanappropriateAh——goo——da——da!’

There，hearthat，willyou？’triumphedthefather。WhatdidItellyou？That’sthewayhe’sbeengoingoneversinceIcameintotheroom；Thelittlerascalknowsme——sosoon!’

Marieclappedherfingerstoherlipsandturnedherbacksuddenly，withaspasmodiclittlecough；

butherhusband，ifhenoticedtheinterruption，paidnoheed。

DotandDimple，indeed!’hewentonwrathfully。Thatsettlesit。We’llnamethoseboysto-day，Marie，_to-day!_NotonceagainwillIletthesungodownonaDotandaDimpleundermyroof。’

Marieturnedwithaquicklittlecryofhappiness。

Oh，Cyril，I’msoglad!I’vesowantedtohavethemnamed，youknow!Andshallwecallthe

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