Bertram，Iamgoinghome。’
Billy!’
Iam。’
Billy，forheaven’ssakedon’tbeasillygoose!
Theplay’shalfoveralready。We’llsoonbegoing，anyway。’
Billy’slipscametogetherinathinlittledeterminedline。
Bertram，Iamgoinghomenow，please，’shesaid。Youneedn’tcomewithme；Icangoalone。’
Bertramsaidtwowordsunderhisbreathwhichitwasjustaswell，perhaps，thatBilly——andtheneighbors——didnothear；thenhegathereduptheirwrapsand，withBilly，stalkedoutofthetheater。
Athomeeverythingwasfoundtobeabsolutelyasitshouldbe。Bertram，Jr。，waspeacefullysleeping，andDelia，whohadcomeupfromdownstairs，wassewinginthenextroom。
There，yousee，’observedBertram，alittlesourly。
Billydrewalong，contentedsigh。
Yes，Isee；everythingisallright。Butthat’sexactlywhatIwantedtodo，Bertram，youknow——to_seeformyself_，’shefinishedhappily。
AndBertram，lookingatherraptfaceasshehoveredoverthebaby’scrib，calledhimselfabruteandabeasttomind_anything_thatcouldmakeBillylooklikethat。
CHAPTERXXV
SHOULDAULDACQUAINTANCEBEFORGOT’
BertramdidnotaskBillyverysoonagaintogotothetheater。Forsomedays，indeed，hedidnotaskhertodoanything。Then，oneevening，hedidbegforsomemusic。
Billy，youhaven’tplayedtomeorsungtomesinceIcouldremember，’hecomplained。I
wantsomemusic。’
Billygaveamerrylaughandwriggledherfingersexperimentally。
Mercy，Bertram!Idon’tbelieveIcouldplayanote。YouknowI’malloutofpractice。’
Butwhy_don’t_youpractice？’
Why，Bertram，Ican’t。InthefirstplaceI
don’tseemtohaveanytimeexceptwhenBaby’sasleep；andIcan’tplaythen-I’dwakehimup。’
Bertramsighedirritably，rosetohisfeet，andbegantowalkupanddowntheroom。Hecametoapauseatlast，hiseyesbentatrifledisapprovinglyonhiswife。
Billy，dear，_don’t_youwearanythingbutthosewrapperthingsnowadays？’heaskedplaintively。
AgainBillylaughed。Butthistimeatroubledfrownfollowedthelaugh。
Iknow，Bertram，Isupposetheydolookdowdy，sometimes，’sheconfessed；but，yousee，Ihatetowearareallygooddress——Babyrumplesthemupso；andI’musuallyinahurrytogettohimmornings，andthesearesoeasytoslipinto，andsomuchmorecomfortableformetohandlehimin!’
Yes，ofcourse，ofcourse；Isee，’mumbledBertram，listlesslytakinguphiswalkagain。
Billy，afteramoment’ssilence，begantotalkanimatedly。Babyhaddoneawonderfullycunningthingthatmorning，andBillyhadnothadachanceyettotellBertram。Babywasgrowingmoreandmorecunninganyway，thesedays，andtherewereseveralthingsshebelievedshehadnottoldhim；soshetoldthemnow。
Bertramlistenedpolitely，interestedly。Hetoldhimselfthathe_was_interested，too。Ofcoursehewasinterestedinthedoingsofhisownchild!Buthestillwalkedupanddowntheroomalittlerestlessly，comingtoahaltatlastbythewindow，acrosswhichtheshadehadnotbeendrawn。
Billy，’hecriedsuddenly，withhisoldboyisheagerness，there’sagloriousmoon。Comeon!Let’stakealittlewalk——arealfellow-and-
his-best-girlwalk!Willyou？’
Mercy!dear，Icouldn’t，’criedBillyspringingtoherfeet。I’dloveto，though，ifIcould，’
sheaddedhastily，asshesawdisappointmentcloudherhusband’sface。ButItoldDeliashemightgoout。Itisn’therregularevening，ofcourse，butItoldherIdidn’tmindstayingwithBabyabit。SoI’llhavetogorightupnow。
She’llbegoingsoon。But，dear，yougoandtakeyourwalk。It’lldoyougood。Thenyoucancomebackandtellmeallaboutit——onlyyoumustcomeinquietly，sonottowakethebaby，’
shefinished，givingherhusbandanaffectionatekiss，asshelefttheroom。
Afteradisconsolatefiveminutesofsolitude，Bertramgothishatandcoatandwentoutforhiswalk——buthetoldhimselfhedidnotexpecttoenjoyit。
BertramHenshawknewthattheoldrebelliousjealousyofthesummerhadhimfastinitsgrip。
Hewasheartilyashamedofhimself，buthecouldnothelpit。HewantedBilly，andhewantedherthen。Hewantedtotalktoher。Hewantedtotellheraboutanewportraitcommissionhehadjustobtained；andhewantedtoaskherwhatshethoughtoftheideaofabrand-newFaceofaGirl’fortheBohemianTenExhibitionnextMarch。Hewanted——butthen，whatwouldbetheuse？Shewouldlisten，ofcourse，buthewouldknowbytheverylooksofherfacethatshewouldnotbereallythinkingofwhathewassaying；andhewouldbewillingtowagerhisbestcanvasthatintheveryfirstpauseshewouldtellaboutthebaby’snewesttoothorlatesttoy。Notbutthathelikedtohearaboutthelittlefellow，ofcourse；andnotbutthathewasproudasPunchofhim，too；butthathewouldlikesometimestohearBillytalkofsomethingelse。Thesweetestmelodyintheworld，ifdinnedintoone’searsdayandnight，becamesomethingtobefledfrom。
AndBillyoughttotalkofsomethingelse，too!
Bertram，Jr。，wonderfulashewas，reallywasnottheonlythingintheworld，oreventheonlybaby；
andotherpeople——outsiders，theirfriends——
hadarighttoexpectthatsometimesothermattersmightbeconsidered——theirown，forinstance。ButBillyseemedtohaveforgottenthis。
NomatterwhetherthesubjectofconversationhadtodowiththelatestnoveloratriptoEurope，underBilly’sguidanceitinvariablyledstraighttoBaby’sJack-and-Jillbook，ortoaperambulatorjourneyinthePublicGarden。Ifithadnotbeensoserious，itwouldhavebeenreallyfunnythewayallroadsledstraighttoonegoal。Hehimself，whenalonewithBilly，hadstartedthemostunusualandforeignsubjects，sometimes，justtoseeiftherewerenotsomewherealittlebypaththatdidnotbringupinhisownnursery。
Henever，however，foundone。
Butitwasnotfunny；itwasserious。Wasthisgloriousgiftonparenthoodtowhichhehadlookedforwardasthecrowningjoyofhisexistence，tobenothingbutatragedythatwouldfinallywreckhisdomestichappiness？Itcouldnotbe。Itmustnotbe。Hemusthepatient，andwait。
Billylovedhim。Hewassureshedid。Byandbythisobsessionofmotherhood，whichhadhersofastinitsgrasp，wouldrelax。Shewouldrememberthatherhusbandhadrightsaswellasherchild。Onceagainshewouldgivehimthecompanionship，love，andsympatheticinterestsodeartohim。Meanwhiletherewashiswork。
Hemustburyhimselfinthat。Andfortunate，indeed，hewas，hetoldhimself，thathehadsomethingsoabsorbing。
ItwasatthispointinhismeditationsthatBertramroundedacornerandcamefacetofacewithamanwhostoppedhimshortwithajovial：
Isn’tit——byGeorge，itisBertieHenshaw!
Well，whatdoyouthinkofthatforluck？——andmeonlytwodayshomefrom`GayParee’!’
Oh，Seaver!Howareyou？You_are_astranger!’
Bertram’svoiceandhandshakewereabitmorecordialthantheywouldhavebeenhadhenotatthemomentbeenfeelingsoabusedandforlorn。IntheolddayshehadlikedthisBobSeaverwell。Seaverwasanartistlikehimself，andwasgoodcompanyalways。ButSeaverandhiscrowdwerealittletooBohemianforWilliam’staste；
andafterBillycame，she，too，hadobjectedtowhatshecalledthathorridSeaverman。’Inhisheart，Bertramknewthattherewasgoodfoundationfortheirobjections，sohehadavoidedSeaverforatime；andforsomeyears，now，themanhadbeenabroad，somewhattoBertram’srelief。To-night，however，Seaver’sgenialsmileandheartyfriendlinesswerelikeasuddenburstofsunshineonarainyday——andBertramdetestedrainydays。Hewasfeelingnow，too，asifhehadjusthadawholeweekofthem。
Yes，Iamsomethingofastrangerhere，’
noddedSeaver。ButItellyouwhat，littleoldBostonlooksmightygoodtome，allthesame。
Comeon!You’rejustthefellowwewant。I’monmywaynowtotheoldstampingground。
Come——rightaboutface，oldchap，andcomewithme!’
Bertramshookhishead。
Sorry——butIguessIcan’t，to-night，’hesighed。Bothgestureandwordswereunhesitating，butthevoicecarriedthediscontentofasmallboy，who，whilethesunisstillshining，hasbeentoldtocomeintothehouse。
Oh，rats!Yes，youcan，too。Comeon!
Lotsoftheoldcrowdwillbethere——Griggs，Beebe，JackJenkins，andTully。Weneedyoutocompletetheshow。’
JackJenkins？Ishehere？’AneweagernesshadcomeintoBertram’svoice。
Sure!HecameonfromNewYorklastnight。
Greatboy，Jenkins!JustbackfromParisfairlycoveredwithmedals，youknow。’
Yes，soIhear。Ihaven’tseenhimforfouryears。’
Bettercometo-nightthen。’
No-o，’beganBertram，withobviousreluctance。It’salreadynineo’clock，and——’
Nineo’clock!’cutinSeaver，withabroadgrin。Sincewhenhasyourlimitbeennineo’clock？I’veseenthetimewhenyoudidn’tmindnineo’clockinthemorning，Bertie!What’sgot——Oh，Iremember。ImetanotherfriendofyoursinBerlin；chapnamedArkwright——
andsay，he’ssomesinger，youbet!You’regoingtohearofhimoneofthesedays。Well，hetoldmeallabouthowyou’dsettleddownnow——
sonandheir，firesidebliss，prettywife，andallthefixings。But，Isay，Bertie，doesn’tsheletyouout——_any_？’
Nonsense，Seaver!’flaredBertraminannoyedwrath。
Well，then，whydon’tyoucometo-night？
IfyouwanttoseeJenkinsyou’llhaveto；he’sgoingbacktoNewYorkto-morrow。’
ForonlyabriefminutelongerdidBertramhesitate；thenheturnedsquarelyaboutwithanairoffinality。
Ishe？Well，then，perhapsIwill，’hesaid。
I’dhatetomissJenkinsentirely。’
Good!’exclaimedhiscompanion，astheyfellintostep。Haveacigar？’
Thanks。Don’tmindifIdo。’
IfBertram’schinwasalittlehigherandhisstepalittlemoredecidedthanusual，itwasallmerelybywayofaccompanimenttohisthoughts。
Certainlyitwasrightthatheshouldgo，anditwassensible。Indeed，itwasreallyalmostimperative——duetoBilly，asitwere——afterthatdisagreeabletauntofSeaver’s。Asifshedidnotwanthimtogowhenandwherehepleased!Asifshewouldconsentforamomenttofigureintheeyesofhisfriendsasatyrannicalwifewhoobjectedtoherhusband’spassingasocialeveningwithhisfriends!Tobesure，inthisparticularcase，shemightnotfavorSeaver’spresence，butevenshewouldnotmindthisonce——
and，anyhow，itwasJenkinsthatwastheattraction，notSeaver。Besides，hehimselfwasnoundevelopedboynow。Hewasaman，presumedlyabletotakecareofhimself。Besides，again，hadnotBillyherselftoldhimtogooutandenjoytheeveningwithouther，asshehadtostaywiththebaby？Hewouldtelephoneher，ofcourse，thathehadmetsomeoldfriends，andthathemightbelate；thenshewouldnotworry。
Andforthwith，havingsettledthematterinhismind，andtohiscompletesatisfaction，BertramgavehisundividedattentiontoSeaver，whohadalreadyplungedintoanaccountofarecentArtExhibitionhehadattendedinParis。