Dear Enemy

"Oh, yes, sometimes."

Clifford looked from me to Mr. Bretland, and two big tears began rolling

down his cheeks. He jerked his hand away and came and hurled himself

into my arms.

"Don't let him have her! Please! Please! Send him away!"

"Take them all!" I begged.

But he's a hard man.

"I didn't come for an entire asylum," said he, shortly.

By this time Don was sobbing on the other side. And then who should

inject himself into the hubbub but Dr. MacRae, with baby Allegra in his

arms!

I introduced them, and explained. Mr. Bretland reached for the baby, and

Sandy held her tight.

"Quite impossible," said Sandy, shortly. "Miss McBride will tell you

that it's one of the rules of this institution never to separate a

family."

"Miss McBride has already decided," said J. F. B., stiffly. "We have

fully discussed the question."

"You must be mistaken," said Sandy, becoming his Scotchest, and turning

to me. "You surely had no intention of performing any such cruelty as

this?"

Here was the decision of Solomon all over again, with two of the

stubbornest men that the good Lord ever made wresting poor little

Allegra limb from limb.

I despatched the three chicks back to the nursery and returned to the

fray. We argued loud and hotly, until finally J. F. B. echoed my own

frequent query of the last five months: "Who is the head of this asylum,

the superintendent or the visiting physician?"

I was furious with the doctor for placing me in such a position before

that man, but I couldn't quarrel with him in public; so I had ultimately

to tell Mr. Bretland with finality and flatness, that Allegra was out of

the question. Would he not reconsider Sophie?

No, he'd be darned if he'd reconsider Sophie. Allegra or nobody. He

hoped that I realized that I had weakly allowed the child's entire

future to be ruined. And with that parting shot he backed to the door.

"Miss MacRae, Dr. McBride, good afternoon." He achieved two formal bows

and withdrew.

And the moment the door closed Sandy and I fought it out. He said that

any person who claimed to have any modern, humane views on the subject

of child-care ought to be ashamed to have considered for even a moment

the question of breaking up such a family. And I accused him of keeping

her for the purely selfish reason that he was fond of the child and

didn't wish to lose her.

(And that, I believe, is the truth.) Oh, we had the battle of our

career, and he finally took himself off with a stiffness and politeness

that excelled J. F. B.'s.