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She stood there, on the lowest step, slowly gliding away from them, and in her eyes there was a sparkle of tears, left, it may be, from her laughter at poor William's pageant with Jane and Rannie Kirsted or, it may be, not.
She wondered what kind of a woman he had married, and how many children he had and whether he was a widower The fleeting recollection passed; she turned from the window and shook her head, puzzled. "Now where on earth could Jane and that little Kirsted girl have gone?" she murmured. ... At the station, William, descending from the street-car, found that he had six minutes to spare.
The obedient Jane and her friend turned to go, and as they went, Miss Mary Randolph Kirsted allowed her uplifted eyes to linger with increased disfavor upon William, who appeared beside Mrs. Baxter at the window. "I tell you what let's do," Rannie suggested in a lowered voice. "He got so fresh with us, an' made your mother come, an' all, let's let's " She hesitated. "Let's what?"
But for more miracles: As William turned again to resume his meditations upon the steps, his incredulous eyes fell upon a performance amazingly beyond fantasy, and without parallel as a means to make scorn of him. Not ten feet from the porch and in the white moonlight that made brilliant the path to the gate Miss Mary Randolph Kirsted was walking.
"It is too, Rannie," the little girl insisted. "My whole name's Mary Randolph Kirsted, but my short name's Rannie." Jane laughed. "What a funny name!" she said. "I didn't mean your real name; I meant your callers' name. One of us was Mrs. Jones, and one was " "I want to be Mrs. Jones," said Rannie. "Oh, my DEAR Mrs. Jones," Jane began at once, "I want to tell you about my lovely chuldren.
He started, placed the sacred box out of sight, and spoke gruffly. "What you want?" "I'm not coming in, Willie," said his mother. "I just wanted to know I thought maybe you were looking out of the window and noticed where those children went." "What children?" "Jane and that little girl from across the street Kirsted, her name must be." "No. I did not." "I just wondered," Mrs.
Oh, Jane-NEE-ee!" brought her to an open window down-stairs. In the early dusk she looked out upon the washed face of Rannie Kirsted, who stood on the lawn below. "Come on out, Janie. Mamma says I can stay outdoors an' play till half past eight." Jane shook her head. "I can't. I can't go outside the house till to-morrow. It's because we walked after Willie with our stummicks out o' joint."
The shocking audacity took William's breath. He gasped; he sought for words. "Why, you you " he cried. "You you sooty-faced little girl!" In this fashion he directly addressed Miss Mary Randolph Kirsted for the first time in his life. And that was the strangest thing of this strange evening. Strangest because, as with life itself, there was nothing remarkable upon the surface of it.
Baxter said, timidly. "Genesis thinks he heard the little Kirsted girl telling Jane she had plenty of money for carfare. He thinks they went somewhere on a street-car. I thought maybe you noticed wheth " "I told you I did not." "All right," she said, placatively. "I didn't mean to bother you, dear." Following this there was a silence; but no sound of receding footsteps indicated Mrs.
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