“Igrievetosayyouaredeeplymistaken——itismyveryown，“hereturnedwithgreatgravity。Nevertheless，hedrewthecoverletcloseoverhisshoulder。Butherehewasagainattractedbyanotherfaceatthehalf-openeddoor——afreckledone，belongingtoaboyapparentlyayearortwoolderthanthegirl。Hewasviolentlytelegraphingtohertocomeaway，althoughitwasevidentthathewasatthesametimedeeplyinterestedintheguest’stoiletarticles。YetashisbrightgrayeyesandMr。Hamlin’sbrownonesmet，hesuccumbed，asthegirlhad，andwalkeddirectlytothebedside。Buthediditbashfully——asthegirlhadnot。Heevenattemptedadefensiveexplanation。
“Shehadn’toughtercomeinhere，andmarwouldn’tlether，andsheknowsit，“hesaidwithsuperiorvirtue。
“ButIaskedhertocomeasI’maskingyou，“saidMr。Hamlinpromptly，“anddon’tyougobackonyoursisteroryou’llneverbepresidentoftheUnitedStates。“Withthishelaidhishandontheboy’stowhead，andthen，liftinghimselfonhispillowtoahalf-
sittingposture，putanarmaroundeachofthechildren，drawingthemtogether，withthedolloccupyingthecentralpostofhonor。
“Now，“continuedMr。Hamlin，albeitinavoicealittlefaintfromtheexertion，“nowthatwe’recomfortabletogetherI’lltellyouthestoryofthegoodlittleboywhobecameapirateinordertosavehisgrandmotherandlittlesisterfrombeingeatenbyawolfatthedoor。“