d.

"Yes, any mother; they're all good."

"But why doesn't he leave them on earth with their own mothers?"

"Because sometimes he takes a liking to somebody down here," Suzanna
said gravely. "But anyway, you needn't ask me such questions, because
here's Miss Massey who knows everything," Suzanna finished
magnanimously.

"She does that," said the man gravely who was holding the baby.

"Are you related to Miss Massey?" asked Suzanna. Now Miss Massey's
rather faded cheeks grew pink.

"Is it a long time before the baby needs his bottle again, Suzanna?" she
asked.

"Oh, not for hours," said Suzanna. "You see, now he eats crackers and
bread and butter and an egg sometimes, and we gave him some before we
started." She returned relentlessly to the question again, appealing to
the man. "Are you related to Miss Massey?"

"No," the stranger said after a time, "we're just friends."

Miss Massey put in hastily: "Shall we go into the house, children, and
I'll show you some interesting things?"

The man rose quickly, the baby still in his arms. In this manner they
all entered the big house and went into the beautiful room that Suzanna
remembered so well.

"Do you live here?" asked Suzanna of the man. He shook his head.

"You mean in this little town?" he asked. "I once did years ago, but I
moved away to the city. I'm paying a short visit to my sister now."

"Oh," said Suzanna. "My father has a sister called Aunt Martha. She
comes sometimes when we have a new baby."

"Why," said Maizie suddenly, as they were all seated, the baby
contentedly sitting on the man's knee, her voice shrill with new
discovery. "He _is_ related to Miss Massey; he looks at her that way."

The man, after a long pause in which he gathered understanding, answered
very solemnly. "Well," he said, "if loving a person makes you a
relative, then I am very closely related to Miss Massey. But if lack of
money keeps one from being related, then I'm only a stranger to her."

Neither Suzanna nor Maizie could understand that statement. But Miss
Massey blushed till her face was like a lovely flower.

Yet when Suzanna appeared to be about to take up a new line of
questioning, Miss Massey spoke quickly:

"I think you'd like some lemonade, wouldn't you, Suzanna, you and your
sister? I'll go and order some for you."

She went out of the room. The man waited for a moment, then handing the
baby to Suzanna, followed Miss Massey.

"Would you like to live here