I had forgotten all about that, Rosie. To be
sure he will. He must be ten or fifteen years older than you this
minute."

"No, Danny, no! He's not! He's only six years older--about six and a
half. I'm thirteen now. I had a birthday last month. And he's nineteen
and a half. I know because he's four months older than Ellen."

"Six years, do you say?" Danny mumbled. "Well, now, that's a good many,
Rosie. Let's see: when you're eighteen, he'll be twenty-four. H'm. At
twenty-four a lad's getting on, ain't he? Of course a lot of them don't
marry nowadays till thirty but, if they'd ask me advice, I'd tell them
to settle down with the right girl by the time they're twenty-five....
Yes, Rosie, you're right: Jarge'd be pretty old. Six years is a pretty
big difference."

Rosie tossed her head. "I'm not so sure about that! Let's see now: Harry
Long is twenty-six and that makes him seven years older than Ellen, and
I'm sure Harry and Ellen look fine together! No one would ever think of
calling Harry old! Why, he don't look a bit old!"

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Rosie, have it your own way!"

"Danny Agin, how you talk! Have it my own way, indeed! It isn't my way,
it's just facts!"

Danny looked bored. "Well, anyway, it's all in the future, so why are we
arguin' now? You'll be falling in love and probably falling out again
with half a dozen lads before you're eighteen, and by the time you're
twenty you'll probably be happily married to some one you've never yet
laid eyes on. That's how it goes. And in that case, you'll have long
since forgotten all about poor old Jarge Riley."

"Is that so?" Rosie spoke rather coldly, not to say sarcastically.
However, she did not dispute Danny's word. If that was his opinion, he
was, of course, welcome to it. By the same token, Rosie claimed a like
privilege for herself. The way she pressed her lips together told very
plainly that her opinion differed somewhat from Danny's.

Presently Danny opened on another subject. "Now about Jarge Riley: If
you ask me advice, Rosie, I think you had better write him a letter. It
would be a bad thing to have him come down here not knowin' about
Ellen."

Rosie's face changed. "But, Danny, it would be an awful hard letter to
write and, besides, it isn't my business."

"That's so," Danny agreed. "Perhaps now you'd better not meddle. When I
suggested it, it was only because I was thinkin' that you and Jarge were
such good friends that you'd be want