Miss Baby from view, Nannie sidled along to her
chair.

"Now! Ask daddy what he thinks of Miss Loveland!" she exclaimed,
dropping all disguises suddenly and holding the pretty little creature
up in the firelight.

"Oh, Nannie! short clothes!" said Steve with an admiring gasp.

"Yes," said Nannie. "Look at the darling little shoes! See her kick
them! Oh, she's so glad to be rid of those long dresses."

Steve's poker was greatly agitated.

"Nannie," he said, in his quiet way, "I hardly think I can wait much
longer."

"Then you shall have her. Now! Here she goes, daddy!" and Nannie
tossed the baby, all laughter and dimples, into the delighted father's
arms.

True to her sex, she proceeded to grasp all he had--the poker. Steve
held on for safety, but Miss Baby wielded it, and straightway the fire
sent forth a shower of sparks that went frolicking up the chimney in
pure glee.

"Steve," said Nannie, pointing to them, "look! See how prone to sin
you are."

But Steve had no time for his derelictions; he was busy studying the
wonderful baby.

"Nannie," he said, "this marks an epoch; and it's Constance's
birthday."

"It's your birthday, too, you dear old stupid!" laughed Nannie.

"Why, so it is. I never realized before that we were twins."

"He never realizes anything about himself, does he, baby?"

The baby gave a great assenting dab at the fire, necessitating a
prompt examination of all her gear to see if she had caught anywhere.

"He's always thinking of other people and forgetting himself, isn't
he, baby?"

Another dab still bigger and another overlooking.

"Oh, my dear!" stammered Steve.

"Just you hush," said Nannie imperiously. "And he's too foolish and
forgetful of himself to dream that there's a birthday dinner almost
ready in the dining-room and some be-au-ti-ful things under
somebody's plate."

Here Steve was helplessly and hopelessly embarrassed, but Nannie
snatched the baby and went on:

"And he's a regular stupid old know-nothing, isn't he, baby?"

And she made the baby give the poker such a thrust of sympathy that it
stuck fast in the fire.

"Whew!" she exclaimed, jerking it out. "How hot that fire is! I'm
fairly cooked!"

There was a peculiar expression on Steve's face, and all at once
Nannie remembered a newspaper clipping that had dropped from one of
his note-books that day when she cleared his desk. A sudden thought
struck her and caused her to pause with the poker in mid air.