Well，byGeorge!’murmuredtheman，weakly，adawningamazementdrivingthefrownfromhisface。
Spgggh——oo——wah!’gurgledtheboy，holdingouttwotinyfists。
Aslowsmilecametotheman’sface。
Well，I’ll——be——darned，’hemutteredhalf-
shamefacedly，whollydelightedly。Iftherascaldoesn’tactasifhe——knewme!’
Ah——goo——spggghh!’grinnedtheinfant，toothlessly，butentrancingly。
WithalmostastealthytouchCyrilclosedthedoorbackofhim，andadvancedalittledubiouslytowardhisson。Hiscountenancecarriedamixtureofguilt，curiosity，anddoggeddeterminationsoludicrousthatitwasapitynonebutbabyeyescouldseeit。Asiftomeetmorenearlyonalevelthisbafflingnewacquaintance，Cyrilgottohisknees——somewhatstiffly，itmustbeconfessed——andfacedhisson。
Goo——eee——ooo——yah!’crowedthebabynow，thrashinglegsandarmsaboutinatransportofjoyattheacquisitionofthisnewplaymate。
Well，well，youngman，you——youdon’tsayso!’stammeredthegrowingly-proudfather，thrustingaplainlytimidandunaccustomedfingertowardhisoffspring。Soyoudoknowme，eh？Well，whoamI？’
Da——da!’gurgledtheboy，triumphantlyclutchingtheoutstretchedfinger，andholdingonwithatenacitythatbroughtagleefulchuckletothelipsoftheman。
Jove!butaren’tyouthestronglittlebeggar，though!Needn’ttellmeyoudon’tknowagoodthingwhenyouseeit!SoI’m`da-da，’amI？’
hewenton，unhesitatinglyacceptingasthepuregoldofknowledgetheshamelessimitationvocabularyhissonwasfoistinguponhim。Well，I
expectIam，and——’
Oh，Cyril!’Thedoorhadopened，andMariewasintheroom。Ifshegaveastartofsurpriseatherhusband’sunaccustomedattitude，shequicklycontrolledherself。Juliasaidyouwantedme。Imusthavebeengoingdownthebackstairswhenyoucameupthefront，and——’
Please，Mrs。Henshaw，isitDotyouhaveinhere，orDimple？’askedanewvoice，asthesecondnurseenteredbyanotherdoor。
BeforeMrs。Henshawcouldanswer，Cyril，whohadgottohisfeet，turnedsharply。
Isit——_who_？’hedemanded。
Oh!Oh，Mr。Henshaw，’stammeredthegirl。
Ibegyourpardon。Ididn’tknowyouwerehere。
ItwasonlythatIwantedtoknowwhichbabyitwas。WethoughtwehadDotwithus，until——’
Dot!Dimple!’explodedtheman。Doyoumeantosayyouhavegivenmy_sons_theridiculousnamesof`_Dot_’and`_Dimple_’？’
Why，no——yes——well，thatis——wehadtocallthemsomething，’falteredthenurse，aswithadespairingglanceathermistress，sheplungedthroughthedoorway。
Cyrilturnedtohiswife。
Marie，whatisthemeaningofthis？’hedemanded。
Why，Cyril，dear，don’t——don’tgetsowroughtup，’shebegged。It’sonlyasMarysaid，we_had_tocallthemsomething，and——’
Wroughtup，indeed!’interruptedCyril，savagely。Whowouldn’tbe？`Dot’and`Dimple’!
GreatScott!Onewouldthinkthoseboyswereacoupleofkittensorpuppies；thattheydidn’tknowanything——didn’thaveanybrains!
Buttheyhave——iftheotherisanythinglikethisone，atleast，’hedeclared，pointingtohissononthefloor，who，atthisopportunemomentjoinedintheconversationtotheextentofanappropriateAh——goo——da——da!’
There，hearthat，willyou？’triumphedthefather。WhatdidItellyou？That’sthewayhe’sbeengoingoneversinceIcameintotheroom；Thelittlerascalknowsme——sosoon!’
Marieclappedherfingerstoherlipsandturnedherbacksuddenly，withaspasmodiclittlecough；
butherhusband，ifhenoticedtheinterruption，paidnoheed。
DotandDimple，indeed!’hewentonwrathfully。Thatsettlesit。We’llnamethoseboysto-day，Marie，_to-day!_NotonceagainwillIletthesungodownonaDotandaDimpleundermyroof。’
Marieturnedwithaquicklittlecryofhappiness。
Oh，Cyril，I’msoglad!I’vesowantedtohavethemnamed，youknow!AndshallwecallthemFranzandFelix，aswe’dtalked？’
Franz，Felix，John，James，Paul，Charles——
anything，soit’ssaneandsensible!I’devenadoptCalderwell’sabsurdBildadand——er——
Tomdad，orwhateveritwas，ratherthanhavethosepoorlittlechapsinsultedadaylongerwitha`Dot’anda`Dimple。’GreatScott!’And，entirelyforgettingwhathehadcometothenurseryfor，Cyrilstrodefromtheroom。
Ah——goo——spggggh!’commentedbabyfromthemiddleofthefloor。
ItwasonaverywindyMarchdaythatBertramHenshaw’sson，Bertram，Jr。，arrivedattheStrata。BillywentsofarintotheValleyoftheShadowofDeathforherbabythatitwassomedaysbeforesherealizedinallitsimportancethepresenceofthenewmemberofherfamily。Evenwhenthedayshadbecomeweeks，andBertram，Jr。，wasamonthandahalfold，theextremelassitudeandwearinessofhisyoungmotherwasasourceofever-growinganxietytoherfamilyandfriends。Billywassounlikeherself，theyallsaid。
Ifsomethingcouldonlyrouseher，’
suggestedtheHenshaw’soldfamilyphysicianoneday。Acertainsortofmentalshock——ifnottoosevere——woulddothedeed，Ithink，andwithnoinjury——onlybenefit。Herphysicalconditionisinjustthestatethatneedsastimulustostiritintonewlifeandvigor。’
Asithappened，thiswassaidonacertainMonday。TwodayslaterBertram’ssisterKate，onherwaywithherhusbandtoMr。Hartwell’soldhomeinVermont，stoppedoverinBostonforatwodays’visit。ShemadeherheadquartersatCyril’shome，butverynaturallyshewent，withoutmuchdelay，topayherrespectstoBertram，Jr。
Mr。Hartwell’sbrotherisn’twell，’sheexplainedtoBilly，afterthegreetingswereover。
Youknowhe’stheonlyoneleftthere，sinceMotherandFatherHartwellcameWest。WeshallgorightonuptoVermontinacoupleofdays，butwejusthadtostayoverlongenoughtoseethebaby；andwehadn’teverseenthetwins，either，youknow。Bytheway，howperfectlyridiculousCyrilisoverthoseboys!’
Ishe？’smiledBilly，faintly。
Yes。Onewouldthinktherewereneveranybabiesbornbefore，tohearhimtalk。Hethinksthey’rethemostwonderfulthingsintheworld——
andtheyarecunninglittlefellows，I’lladmit。
ButCyrilthinksthey_know_somuch，’wentonKate，laughingly。He’salwaysbraggingofsomethingoneortheotherofthemhasdone。
Thinkofit——_Cyril!_MariesaysitallstartedfromthetimelastJanuarywhenhediscoveredthenurseshadbeencallingthemDotandDimple。’
Yes，Iknow，’smiledBillyagain，faintly，liftingathin，white，veryun-Billy-likehandtoherhead。
Katefrowned，andregardedhersister-in-lawthoughtfully。
Mercy!howyoulook，Billy!’sheexclaimed，withcheerfultactlessness。Theysaidyoudid，but，Ideclare，youlookworsethanIthought。’
Billy’spalefacereddenedperceptibly。
Nonsense!It’sjustthatI’mso——sotired，’
sheinsisted。Ishallbeallrightsoon。Howdidyouleavethechildren？’
Well，andhappy——’speciallylittleKate，becausemotherwasgoingaway。Kateismistress，youknow，whenI’mgone，andshetakesherselfveryseriously。’
Mistress!Alittlethinglikeher!Why，shecan’tbemorethantenoreleven，’murmuredBilly。
Sheisn’t。Shewastenlastmonth。Butyou’dthinkshewasforty，theairsshegivesherself，sometimes。Oh，ofcoursethere’sNora，andthecook，andMissWinton，thegoverness，theretoreallymanagethings，andMotherHartwellisjustaroundthecorner；butlittleKate_thinks_
she’smanaging，soshe’shappy。’
Billysuppressedasmile。BillywasthinkingthatlittleKatecamenaturallybyatleastoneofhertraits。
Really，thatchildisimpossible，sometimes，’
resumedMrs。Hartwell，withasigh。Youknowtheabsurdthingsshewasalwayssayingtwoorthreeyearsago，whenwecameontoCyril’swedding。’
Yes，Iremember。’
Well，Ithoughtshewouldgetoverit。Butshedoesn’t。She’sworse，ifanything；andsometimesherinsight，orintuition，orwhateveryoumaycallit，ispositivelyuncanny。Ineverknowwhatshe’sgoingtoremarknext，whenItakeheranywhere；butit’ssafetosay，whateveritis，it’llbeunexpectedand_usually_embarrassingtosomebody。
And——isthatthebaby？’brokeoffMrs。
Hartwell，asacooinglaughandawoman’svoicecamefromthenextroom。
Yes。Thenursehasjustbroughthimin，I
think，’saidBilly。
ThenI’llgorightnowandseehim，’
rejoinedKate，risingtoherfeetandhurryingintothenextroom。
Leftalone，Billylaybackwearilyinherreclining-chair。ShewonderedwhyKatealwaystiredherso。Shewishedshehadhadonherbluekimono，thenperhapsKatewouldnothavethoughtshelookedsobadly。Bluewasalwaysmorebecomingtoherthan——
Billyturnedherheadsuddenly。FromthenextroomhadcomeKate’sclear-cut，decisivevoice。
Oh，no，Idon’tthinkhelooksabitlikehisfather。ThatlittlesnubbynosewasnevertheHenshawnose。’
Billydrewinherbreathsharply，andpulledherselfhalferectinherchair。FromthenextroomcameKate’svoiceagain，afteralowmurmurfromthenurse。
Oh，butheisn’t，Itellyou。Heisn’tonebitofaHenshawbaby!TheHenshawbabiesarealways_pretty_ones。Theyhavemorehair，andtheylook——well，different。’
Billygavealowcry，andstruggledtoherfeet。
Oh，no，’spokeupKate，inanswertoanotherindistinctsomethingfromthenurse。I
don’tthinkhe’snearasprettyasthetwins。Ofcoursethetwinsareagooddealolder，buttheyhavesucha_bright_look，——andtheydidhave，fromtheveryfirst。Isawitintheirtiniestbabypictures。Butthisbaby——’
_This_babyis_mine_，please，’cutinatremulous，butresolutevoice；andMrs。HartwellturnedtoconfrontBertram，Jr。’smother，manifestlyweakandtrembling，butnolessmanifestlyblazing-eyedanddetermined。
Why，Billy!’expostulatedMrs。Hartwell，asBillystumbledforwardandsnatchedthechildintoherarms。
Perhapshedoesn’tlookliketheHenshawbabies。Perhapsheisn’tasprettyasthetwins。
Perhapshehasn’tmuchhair，anddoeshaveasnubnose。He’smybabyjustthesame，andI
shallnotstaycalmlybyandseehimabused!
Besides，_I_thinkhe’sprettierthanthetwinseverthoughtofbeing；andhe’sgotallthehairIwanthimtohave，andhisnoseisjustexactlywhatababy’snoseoughttobe!’And，withasuperbgesture，Billyturnedandborethebabyaway。
CHAPTERXXIII
BILLYANDTHEENORMOUSRESPONSIBILITY
WhenthedoctorheardfromthenurseofMrs。
Hartwell’svisitandwhathadcomeofit，heonlygaveadiscreetsmile，asbefittedhimselfandtheoccasion；buttohiswifeprivately，thatnight，thedoctorsaid，whenhehadfinishedtellingthestory：
AndIcouldn’thaveprescribedabetterpillifI’dtried!’
_Pill_——Mrs。Hartwell!Oh，Harold，’reprovedthedoctor’swife，mildly。
Butthedoctoronlychuckledthemore，andsaid：
Youwaitandsee。’
IfBilly’sfriendswereworriedbeforebecauseofherlassitudeandlackofambition，theywerealmostasworriednowoverheramazingalertnessandinsistentactivity。Daybyday，almosthourbyhour，sheseemedtogaininstrength；andeverybitsheacquiredshepromptlytestedalmosttothebreakingpoint，soplainlyeagerwasshetobewellandstrong。Andalways，frommorninguntilnight，andagainfromnightuntilmorning，thepivotofherexistence，aroundwhichswungallthoughts，words，actions，andplans，wasthesturdylittleplump-cheeked，firm-fleshedatomofhumanityknownasBertram，Jr。EvenAuntHannahremonstratedwithheratlast。
But，Billy，dear，’sheexclaimed，onewouldalmostgettheideathatyouthoughttherewasn’tathingintheworldbutthatbaby!’
Billylaughed。
Well，doyouknow，sometimesI’mostthinkthereisn’t，’sheretortedunblushingly。
