"I wish you would," said Mark, as, with a laugh, he shook my hand

extended from the group around me, composed of Nell and the other three

kiddies, all crowded together in one passionate greeting. "Nurse and

Julia and the house and garden man have all gone to a wedding, so we

have fed 'em and are now starting out for a razoo, and we don't care

whether it lasts until midnight or not. Young Charlotte, you hug one

side of your Aunt Charlotte and let Jimmy get his innings on the other

side. Here, break away, all of you!" and while everybody laughed, Mark

disentangled the greetings, and seated the separated juvenile members in

a row on the steps beside the parson and the two babes. Nell he left in

the hollow of my arm.

"Oh, it is so good to have you at home, Charlotte," she said, with

another hug. "We miss you terribly. We depend on you for everything.

Things don't go right without you. I had a terrible time with--that is,

you haven't seen baby yet. Give her to me, Mr. Goodloe," and as she

spoke Nell leaned over to get the cooer out of the Jaguar's arms for my

inspection.

"You'll get neither Babe nor Suckling," was his answer as he cuddled the

two closer and hunched his shoulders in Nell's direction. "Don't you

know enough to let well enough alone? If they have got to go out to the

Club and fox-trot until midnight they ought to have repose now."

"We promised to be good at church, but we didn't promise anything about

the Country Club, and if we go there we are going to be as bad as

anybody out there is," announced small Charlotte with determined

composure. "Dabney says that fox-trotting is a devil's dance and we want

to see you all do it with him."

"Help!" exclaimed Billy, while Mr. Goodloe put his arm around Charlotte

and drew her to him with a kind of fierce tenderness.

"Isn't she awful?" exclaimed Nell. "We meant to ask you if we could take

them with us out to the Club to prayer meeting. Some of the Settlement

women bring their babies and I know mine will be as good. Charlotte and

Sue and Jimmy promised, and the sound of your voice bewitches the babies

as it does all of us."

As Nell finished speaking and bent to pat the head of the Suckling on

his shoulder, the Reverend Mr. Goodloe looked straight into my eyes and

laughed, perfect comprehension of me and my revolt in his direct

amethyst glances which shot into my depths.

"They are all going over to listen to Mr. Goodloe sing hymns at his

chapel, Nell, and then all of you are coming by here for me to go out to

the Club to dance a few hours," was my answer to the shot as I calmly

refused the invitation into the fold that had been given me with the

rest of the backsliding flock.




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