slowly, leaning on the railing to the steps--Muvver in the nightgowny
dress Aunt Julia had made her, only it wasn't really nightgowny, because
it was all over lace--Muvver with her hair in two braids over her
shoulders and all mussed up where she'd been lying down. Ariadne
wondered that she hadn't smoothed it a little. She knew what people
would say to _her_ if she came around with her hair looking like that.

The man went forward to meet Muvver, and gave her his hand, and they
neither of them smiled or said how do you do, but came back together
toward the arbor. And when they got there Muvver sat down quick, as
though she were tired, and laid her head back against the chair. The man
lifted Ariadne up and kissed her--he had never done that before. Now she
knew how his beard felt--very soft. She felt it against her face for a
long time. And he told her to go into the house to 'Stashie.

So she went. Ariadne always did as she was told. 'Stashie was trying to
make some ginger cookies, and the oven "jist would _not_ bake thim," she
said. They were all doughy when they came out, very much as they were
when they went in; but the dough was deliciously sweet and spicy.
'Stashie and Ariadne ate a great deal of it, because 'Stashie knew very
well from experience that the grown-ups have an ineradicable prejudice
against food that comes out of the oven "prezackly" the way it went in.

After that they had to wash their hands, all sticky with dough, and
after that 'Stashie took Ariadne on her lap and told her Irish fairy
stories, all about Cap O'Rushes and the Leprechaun, till they were
startled by the boiling over of the milk 'Stashie had put on the stove
to start a pudding. 'Stashie certainly did have bad luck with her
cooking, as she herself frequently sadly admitted.

But, oh! wasn't she darling to Ariadne! It made the lonely little girl
warm all over to be loved the way 'Stashie loved her. Sometimes when
Ariadne woke up with a bad dream it was 'Stashie who came to quiet her,
and she just hugged her up close, close, so that she could feel her
heart go thump, thump, thump. And she always, always had time to explain
things. It was wonderful how much time 'Stashie had for that--or
anything else Ariadne needed.

She was putting more milk on the stove when in dashed Uncle Marius, his
mouth wide open and his hands jumping around. "Where's your mother?
Where's Mrs. Hollister?" he cried.

"Out in the arbor," said Ariadne.

"Alone