The Coming of Bill

round WilliamB. Winfield occurred at about this time. The firs

introduced by Steve, who, it seemed, had known her since she was achild. She was the nineteen-year-old daughter of a compositor on one ofthe mo

adsteered them through to the office-boy age without mishap, put herextremely high in the class of gifted amateurs. Mamie was accordinglygiven a trial, and survived it triumphantly. William Bannister, thatdiscerning youth, took to her at once. Kirk liked the neat way shemove

part, was deli

erpresence, still less to converse with her, without experiencing a warm,clammy, shooting sensation and a feeling of general weakness similar tothat which follows a well-directed blow at the solar ple

s her father's brotherrelieved his mind to a c

unperformed. There was that about Mamie which unmanned Steve. She wasso small and dainty that the ruggedness which had once been his prid

atisfied. Accustomed to rule,she found herself in an unexpectedly minor position. She had definiteviews on the h

found Ruth considerablyless malleable than she had

one afternoon, f

come in and lecture me onhow to raise babies.

owed to play about the studio like this."Kirk looked at his son and heir, who was submitting at that moment tobe bathed. He was standing up. It was a peculi

o much what he is now. She is worrying about what mighthappe

talk me round to her views about them in a minute. It's only the factt

says a child ought not to bekissed?""It has struck me," said Kirk meditatively, "that your Aunt Lora, if Imay ma

d to talk about it. She haswritten books about it.""I thought her books were all about the selfishness of the modern youngman in not marrying.""Not at all. Some of them are about how to look after the baby. It's nogood the modern young man marrying if he's going to murder his babydirectly afterward, is it?""Something in that. There's just one objection to this sterilizednursery business, though, which she doesn

on a kid of that age?"It was after the installation of Whiskers at the studio that thediminution of Mrs. Porter's visits became really marked. There wassomethi

ter certainly gave them every chance toget to work upon himself. It was his constant pleasure to clutchWhiskers to him in a vice-like clinch, to bury his face in his sha

resent. She was in theposition of a mother country whose colony has revolted. For years shehad been accustomed to l

o go there, but she kept away from the studio. Sheconsidered that in the matter of Wi

id Kirk, when this fact

without her.""All the same," said Ruth loyally, "she's rather a dear. And we oughtto remember that, if it hadn't been for her, you and I would never havemet.""I do remember it. And I'm grateful. But I can't help feeling that awoman capable of taking other people's lives and juggling wi

g up and altering the face ofthe world whenever she feels like it, and I'm too well satisfied withmy world at pr

s generally out of town. Bailey paid one morevisit, then seemed to consider that he could

ciety, had made few real friends. Most ofthe girls she had known bored her. They were gushing creature

e of her wedding gavepeople something to talk

cell for three and enjoyed this highly unnatural state ofthings enormously. Life had never seemed so full either to Kirk orherself. There was always so