at had never even seen me. Because
of me he had felt and written that poem descriptive of old Tiber, and
the moonlight had lit up the Colosseum just because I was over here
lighting up Hillsboro, Tennessee, with Mr. Carter dead. Of course that
is not the way he put it all, but there is no place to really copy what
he did say down into this imp book and, anyway, that is the sentiment he
expressed, boiled down and sugared off.

That's just what I mean--love boiled down and sugared off is mighty apt
to get an explosive flavor, and one had better be careful with that kind
if one is timid; which I'm not. As I said, also, I am ready for a little
taste of life, so I read on without fear. And, to be fair, Alfred had
well boiled his own last paragraph. It snapped; and I jumped and gasped
both. I almost thought I didn't quite like it and was going to read it
over again to see, when there came a procession from over to Doctor
John's and I laid the bombshell down on the bench.

First came the red setter that is always first with Doctor John, and
then he came himself, leading Billy by the hand. It was Billy, but the
most subdued Billy I ever saw, and I held out my arms and started for
him.

"Wait a minute, please, Molly," said the doctor in the voice he always
uses when he's punishing Billy and me. "Bill came to apologize to you
for being rude to your--your guest. He told me all about it and I think
he's sorry. Tell Mrs. Carter you are sorry, son." When that man speaks
to me as if I were just any old body else, I hate him so it is a wonder
I don't show it more than I do. But there was nothing to say and I
looked at Billy and Billy looked at me.

Then suddenly he stretched out his little arms to me and the dimples
winked at me from all over his darling face.

"Molly, Molly," he said with a perfect rapture of chuckles in his voice,
"now you look just as pretty as you do when you go to bed; all whity all
over. You can kiss my kiss-spot a hundred times while I bear-hug you
for that nice not-black dress," and before any stern person could have
stopped us I was on my knees on the grass kissing my fill from the
"kiss-spot" on the back of his neck, while he hugged all the starch out
of the summer-before-last.

And Doctor John sat down on the bench quick and laughed out loud one of
the very few times I ever heard him do it. He was looking down at us,
but I didn't laugh up into _his_ eyes. I was afraid. I felt it was
safer to go on kis