laid a hand on the boy's thick locks. "That
will please him immensely."

Mrs. Peyton was looking at him with dismay. "Do I understand you have
taken him to a hospital?" she asked.

Doctor Churchill nodded. "To the boys' surgical ward. Nothing contagious
admitted to the hospital. It's a wonderful pleasure to the little chaps
to see a boy from outside, and Ran enjoyed it, too, didn't you?"

"Oh, it was jolly!" said the boy.

"I shouldn't think that was exactly the word to describe such a spot,"
said Mrs. Peyton, and she looked displeased. "I think there are quite
enough sad sights in the world for his young eyes without taking him
into the midst of suffering. I should not have permitted it if you had
consulted me."

It was true that Doctor Churchill possessed a frank and boyish face,
wearing ordinarily an exceedingly genial expression; but the friendly
gray eyes were capable of turning steely upon provocation, and they
turned that way now. He returned his cousin's look with one which
concealed with some difficulty both surprise and disgust.

"I took Ran nowhere that he would see any extreme suffering," he
explained. "This ward contains only convalescents from various injuries
and operations. The graver cases are elsewhere, and he saw nothing of
those. A visit to this ward is likely to excite sympathy, it is true,
but not sympathy of a painful sort. The boys have very good times among
themselves, after a limited fashion, and I think Ran had a good time
with them. How about it, Ran?"

"Oh, I did! I taught two of 'em to play waggle-finger. Their legs were
hurt, but their hands were all right, and they could play waggle-finger
as well as anybody. They liked it."

"Nevertheless, Randolph is of a very sensitive and delicate make-up,"
pursued his mother, "and I don't think such associations good for him.
He moaned in his sleep last night, and I couldn't think what it could
be."

"It couldn't have been the candy we made this afternoon, could it,
Cousin Lula?" Charlotte asked, in her gentlest way. A comprehending
smile touched the corners of Doctor Churchill's lips.

"Why, of course not!" said Mrs. Peyton, quickly. "Candy made this
afternoon--how absurd, Charlotte! It was last night his sleep was
disturbed."

"But the hospital visit was this morning," Charlotte said. "I should
think the one might as easily be responsible as the other."

Mrs. Peyton looked confused. "I understood you to say the visit to the
hospita