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Youmeanyouwereactuallyjealousofyourownbaby？’shegasped。Why，Bertram，howcould——Andwasthatwhyyou——yousoughtdistractionand——Oh，but，Bertram，thatwasallmyf-fault，’shequaveredremorsefully。I
wouldn’tplay，norsing，norgotowalk，noranything；andIworehorridfrowzywrappersallthetime，and——’
Oh，come，come，Billy，’expostulatedtheman。I’mnotgoingtohaveyoutalklikethatabout_mywife!_’
ButIdid——thebooksaidIdid，’wailedBilly。
Thebook？Goodheavens!Arethereanybooksinthis，too？’demandedBertram。
Yes，thesameone；the——the`TalkstoYoungWives，’’noddedBilly。Andthen，becausesomethingshadgrownsmalltothem，andsomeothersgreat，theybothlaughedhappily。
Buteventhiswasnotquiteall；foroneevening，veryshyly，Billybroughtoutthechessboard。
OfcourseIcan’tplaywell，’shefaltered；
andmaybeyoudon’twanttoplaywithmeatall。’
ButBertram，whenhefoundoutwhyshehadlearned，wasverysurehedidwantverymuchtoplaywithher。
Billydidnotbeat，ofcourse。Butshedidseveraltimesexperience——forafewblissfulminutes——thepleasureofseeingBertramsitmotionless，studyingtheboard，becauseofamoveshehadmade。Andthough，intheend，herkingwasignominiouslytrappedwithnotanunguardedsquareuponwhichtosethispoordistractedfoot，thememoryofthoseblissfulminuteswhenshehadmadeBertramstare’morethanpaidforthefinalcheckmate。
BythemiddleofJunethebabywaswellenoughtobetakentothebeach，andBertramwassofortunateastosecurethesamehousetheyhadoccupiedbefore。OnceagainWilliamwentdowninMaineforhisfishingtrip，andtheStratawasclosed。InthebeachhouseBertramwaspaintingindustriously——withhislefthand。
AlmosthewasbeginningtofeelBilly’senthusiasm。
Almosthewasbelievingthathe_was_doinggoodwork。ItwasnottheFaceofaGirl，’now。
Itwasthefaceofababy：smiling，laughing，evencrying，sometimes；atothertimesjustgazingstraightintoyoureyeswithadorablesoberness。
BertramstillwentintoBostontwiceaweekfortreatment，thoughthetreatmentitselfhadchanged。Thegreatsurgeonhadsenthimtostillanotherspecialist。
There’sachance——thoughperhapsasmallone，’hehadsaid。I’dlikeyoutotryit，anyway。’
Asthesummeradvanced，Bertramthoughtsometimesthathecouldseeaslightimprovementinhisinjuredarm；buthetriednottothinktoomuchaboutthis。Hehadthoughtthesamethingbefore，onlytobedisappointedintheend。Besides，hewasundeniablyinterestedjustnowinseeingifhe_could_paintwithhislefthand。Billywassosure，andshehadsaidthatshewouldbeprouderthaneverofhim，ifhecould——andhewouldliketomakeBillyproud!Then，too，therewasthebaby——hehadnoideaababycouldbesointerestingtopaint。
HewasnotsurebutthathewasgoingtoliketopaintbabiesevenbetterthanhehadlikedtopainthisFaceofaGirl’thathadbroughthimhisfirstfame。
InSeptemberthefamilyreturnedtotheStrata。
ThemovewasmadealittleearlierthisyearonaccountofAliceGreggory’swedding。
Alicewastobemarriedintheprettyliving-
roomattheAnnex，justwhereBillyherselfhadbeenmarriedafewshortyearsbefore；andBillyhadgreatplansforthewedding——notallofwhichshewasabletocarryout，forAlice，likeMariebeforeher，hadverystrongobjectionstobeingplacedundertoogreatobligations。
Andyousee，really，anyway，’shetoldBilly，Iowethewholethingtoyou，tobeginwith——
evenmyhusband。’
Nonsense!Ofcourseyoudon’t，’disputedBilly。
ButIdo。Ifithadn’tbeenforyouIshouldneverhavefoundhimagain，andof_course_I
shouldn’thavehadthisdearlittlehometobemarriedin。AndInevercouldhaveleftmotherifshehadn’thadAuntHannahandtheAnnexwhichmeansyou。AndifIhadn’tfoundMr。
Arkwright，Imightneverhaveknownhow——
howIcouldgobacktomyoldhome(asIamgoingonmyhoneymoontrip)，andjustknowthateveryoneofmyoldfriendswhoshakeshandswithmeisn’tpityingmenow，becauseI’mmyfather’sdaughter。Andthatmeansyou；foryouseeIneverwouldhaveknownthatmyfather’snamewasclearedifithadn’t
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